


A Deal Gone Stale

by kishleylam



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, What Have I Done, mostly angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-08 06:09:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 30,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8833402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kishleylam/pseuds/kishleylam
Summary: In high school, you were best friends with the Pines twins. Now, you're a bestselling author and they are the inspiration behind your stories. When you get writer's block, you decide to visit Gravity Falls to regain your spark. It turns out that there is much about your own story that you never knew, and the fate of the world rests on your shoulders.





	1. Welcome to Gravity Falls

       "Dang it!" you say as you hit a dead end for what seems like the bajillionth time. You have written and rewritten this scene over and over again. "I'm losing my touch!" You are the author of a bestselling series. Up to this point, you have never had any trouble finding plots for your stories, but lately everything you write just seems...stale. Perhaps it's because you've been writing this series since you were 16, and you are now 22, or perhaps it's because you've lost your inspiration. Whatever the case is, your agent is getting pushy, and you are getting desperate. You close out of Word. A dialogue box pops up.  
        "Let's see, do I want to save my work?" you mumble to yourself. "No. No I don't." You pull up your favorite browser and stare blankly at the screen. You wish you had someone you could ask for help. Unfortunately, although you are famous under your pen name, Emily Hasak, to everyone you know, you are just (y/n). At first, you kept your writing a secret so that people would take you seriously despite your age, but by now you've learned to enjoy the privacy you keep through your secrecy. However, your secrets are not without drawbacks, like having to ask the internet what to do when you lose inspiration. One article catches your attention. After skimming it, one piece of advice stands out to you.  
        "If you lose inspiration, think of what it was that originally inspired you."   
        Why didn't I think of that? you mentally chide yourself. You chuckle as you remember the "Mystery Twins" who inspired your series. You met them your freshman year of high school, and they were filled to the brim with crazy stories about the strange town where their Great Uncle lived. Every summer they went to a sleepy town called Gravity Falls where they claimed to have all kinds of adventures. They obviously were very big believers in the supernatural, and the three of you were very close up until the end of your junior year, when they moved away. Although you hadn't spoken to them much since then, them and their stories about Gravity Falls had been a major inspiration for your series. Although very few of the stories in your books were based on things they claimed to have seen, your main character was based heavily on Dipper Pines, the more mysterious and paranoid of the mystery twins. You search for "Gravity Falls", and after reading a few articles on the spooky atmosphere of the town and the local folklore, you decide to visit the town.  
        "Who knows," you say with a chuckle, "maybe I'll find my inspiration again!"

        Two days later, you are driving to Gravity Falls, Oregon. The bed of your truck is full of manuscripts, plot lines, complicated charts detailing the flow of your story, and lots of pillows and vanilla candles (because you write best when you're in a nest of pillows with the smell of cookies wafting through the air). You plug your phone into the speakers and start the playlist you created to pump yourself up for this trip. You sing along to your favorite songs, feeling yourself getting excited. The closer you get to Gravity Falls, the more pumped you feel. You can feel your creative juices begin to flow again, as potential ideas bounce around your head like ping pong balls. Even though you don't love any of the ideas in your head right now, ANYTHING is better than the big fat blank you've been drawing up to this point. After a few hours of driving, you see a welcome sign up ahead illuminated by your car lights. It reads: "Welcome to Gravity Falls!" A sly smile creeps upon your face as you wonder if you'll have any adventures of your own to tell about by the time you get home.  
        As you pull into the town, you pass the police station, the library, and..."Greasy's Diner"? Although a restaurant with "Greasy" in the name doesn't seem like something that would succeed, you notice that there are quite a few people there despite the name and the late hour. You make a mental note to eat there sometime, and continue on to the small lodge you've rented out. It sits on the edge of the woods, and has a wonderfully creepy vibe to it. You walk in carrying your laptop bag and a suitcase, and a shiver runs down your spine. The creepy "abandoned hunting lodge" feel in this place should inspire some great work!  
        "Perfect!" You smile and set down your bags on your temporary bed. For a moment, you debate getting the rest of your things, but you're tired from the long drive and, honestly, right now you just feel like going to sleep. The bed of your truck is covered up, and you doubt anyone will come out here and steal a bunch of paper. You plop down and shroud yourself in blankets. The bed is clearly a bit old, but it's fairly comfortable nonetheless.  
        "Good night," you say to yourself just before sleep washes over you like a wave.

        You open your eyes to see a massacre.  
        Brutalized bodies litter the ground, soaking the soil in blood. Men and women battle every kind of bizarre creature and terrifying beast you can imagine. Some creatures you recognize as your creations--monsters you use in your stories that, until now, you have only seen in your mind's eye and in (very) rough sketches you'd done. You gape in unabashed horror as the creatures dismember the humans, many of whom you begin to recognize, including your parents, your college roommate, and...the Pines twins? Although you haven't been watching for long, you can see that the humans stood no chance against such raw power...yet, not one of them tried to run away. You take a tremulous step forward, reaching out to them with one hand. Your every movement is labored, as if the air around you is molasses.  
        "Run away!" you try to scream, but your voice refuses to work. One monster looks in your direction as if it heard your silent scream. The creature, a gargantuan lizard, runs its tongue over blood-soaked teeth before bounding towards you. Looking at the beast, you distantly recognize it as the main monster from your second book. You try to run, but your movements are painfully slow and the lizard-beast does not seem to have that same problem. You realize too late that you have only run yourself into a wall. You barely have time to turn around, your mouth open in a silent scream, and face the creature before its gaping maw is wide open and poised to clamp shut on you when you hear a strange, but somehow familiar voice shout from over your shoulder,  
        "Be careful what you wish for!"  
        A searing pain attacks your head and then...

        You jolt forward in bed, your screams echoing off the walls of this old lodge. You are drenched in cold sweat, your heart is pounding, and the pain in your head continues.  
        "It was just a dream." You repeat the words to yourself over and over again. You get out of bed--after a dream like that, the chances of you finding sleep again are just about zero. You glance over at the clock on the side table. It tells you that it is 4 AM.  
        "That's not too bad," you mutter. You decide that since you're already drenched in sweat, you may as well go on a nature hike. Seeing the beautiful sunrise from the mountaintop should make you forget about your horrible nightmare. A shudder runs through you at the thought. As you quickly change into running gear, you try to rationalize your vivid dream.  
        "I've been putting a lot of time and energy into this novel," you say aloud. "I write in the mystery/horror genre, so spending lots of time dwelling on that will naturally affect my mental state. Plus, this cabin is super creepy." You look around at the spooky mounted heads and the structurally unsound furniture. "Maybe this dream is actually a godsend," you continue, your usual optimism kicking back in. "If I could capture that horrific scene in my books, it would be perfect for an intense final sequence to finish the series." You smile as you walk out the door. "I knew going on this trip was a good idea!"  
        You take a breath of fresh air, grateful for the chance to go outside. The sky is still dark, but the blue tint of the darkness in the sky tells you that the sun will be up again soon enough. Luckily for you, there is a trail that begins on the property and joins with a larger one about half a mile in. Unluckily for you, it is fairly overgrown; it is clear that, like many things on this property, the owners simply stopped caring for it a while ago. However, the "trail" is marginally clearer than the rest of the forest. You're not sure how safe this path is, but you decide to take a chance for once. Every new experience, you remind yourself, is an opportunity for literary gold. Using your phone as a flashlight, you begin to navigate the treacherous trail. You pull a stick off a nearby tree and swing it in front of you like a machete.  
        "Hyah!" you shout, although you're pretty sure that sound effect would do better in a kung-fu movie than an action-adventure one. You decide you don't really care, and continue swinging your stick around uselessly for a few moments, laughing quite a bit at yourself before dropping the stick and continuing on. After about five minutes, the main path comes into sight. A broad smile breaks across your face. You enjoy walking along the nicer path for about twenty minutes, getting closer and closer to the mountain, but as you approach it you see that the path turns away from it.  
        "What?" You frown. "I didn't come all the way out here to not climb this mountain!" You debate for a second, but you spot a travel-worn path that seems to head up the mountain. It would seem that you're not the only person who had this idea before. After a moment's hesitation, you start on the path. After all, it's still in better condition than the path from your lodge to the main trail. You continue, whistling as you go. You are about halfway up the mountain when you hear a snapping sound. You look around for a moment, trying to place the source of the noise, but before you know what's happening you are swept up in a blur.


	2. Just a Peaceful Nature Walk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You see an old friend and some heads get smacked.

        Once you regain your bearings, you realize that you are caught up in a net. You try to untie the ropes, but they won't budge. You realize that whoever set this probably isn't up this early, but that doesn't stop you from yelling at the top of your lungs.  
        "Help!" you scream, tugging at the ropes. "Someone let me out of here!" You continue screaming as you fiddle with the ropes. Suddenly, you hear a rustling from a nearby bush.  
        "Oh, thank God!" you say, ready to cry from relief. "I was starting to consider chewing this rope!" No one emerges from the bushes. An uneasy feeling begins to blossom in the pit of your stomach as you remember that you are not the only living thing in these woods, and you realize that your screams are more likely to attract predators than they are to attract help at this time of day. You continue working at the rope silently, stories creeping into your mind about the more "unusual" creatures that dwell in these woods. Even as you try to convince yourself that the creatures were the by-products of two paranoid kids' hyperactive imaginations and, most likely, Smile Dip, panic begins to set in as the grave danger of your situation becomes more apparent. You have begun gnawing on the ropes when a silent figure emerges from the bushes. You think that he is a tall man--and he is, from the waist up. However, from the waist down, he is part, well...  
        "You're part horse," you whisper, terrified. Your heart rate picks up twelve notches when you realize that if the man before you is a centaur, that means that the appearance of the other creatures you heard about had less to do with Smile Dip and more to do with reality. The centaur, a huge, muscular creature, stares at you with beady black eyes. His facial expression is harsh and difficult to read, but it definitely doesn't look friendly.  
        "Holy-!" Your muttering is cut off by the centaur blowing loudly into a horn. It takes you about two seconds to realize that he must be calling his...what, herd? You're not sure what you would call a group of centaurs, but you figure that if he is calling them, that's probably not a sign that he's going to cut you loose. Desperate, you chew on the rope, knowing that if you're going to get away it has to be now. Unfortunately, before you can free yourself, you feel an intense pain explode in your head and your world fades to black.

        You come to, a dull throbbing in the back of your head confirming that you were not dreaming. You struggle against the ropes which tie you to a makeshift chair. A group of centaurs watches you carefully. The one who found you earlier holds a bundle of sharpened sticks. You have a nasty feeling that you won't like what they're for.  
        "You're awake?" The largest centaur asks.  
        "It would appear so," you mumble.  
        "What was that?" he says, nostrils flaring.  
        "Yes! Yes, I'm awake." You would raise your hands defensively if they weren't tied to their sides.  
        "Good. Then you can explain what you were doing in our woods." The centaur's voice is rough. He crosses his arms in front of his chest and glares at you.  
        "Your woods?" you mumble. Raising your voice, you say, "I was taking a hike to see the sunset from the top of the mountain." The centaur glares even more.  
        "I hate liars." The other centaurs whoop in agreement.  
        "I'm not lying!" you yell. You are nearly knocked over as he lashes out and hits you across the face.  
        "Oh really?" He gets in your face, his foul breath making your eyes water almost as much as his punch did. "Then why do you reek of fear?" You aren't sure how to respond to that in a way that won't make him hit you again.  
        "I..." you begin, only to be cut off by breaking branches to your right. You and the centaurs all look in that direction to see a figure emerging from the bushes. A guy enters the small clearing. He is wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, and his messy brown hair is covered by a blue and white ball cap.  
        "Wait a minute," you say. "Isn't that..."  
        "Dipper!" says the centaur who was just in your face. He steps between you and Dipper, presumably to block his view. "What brings you here?"  
        "Raymond, you blew your meeting horn," Dipper says, clearly exasperated. "These days, you only do that when you're kidnapping some poor hiker."  
        "We found her in one of the traps!" says Raymond. "The only reason she would be out on the mountain near the traps this early in the morning is if she was the one to set them and she was checking them." You can tell from the smugness in his voice that he thinks he's just played a trump card.  
        "Raymond, why would she get caught in her own trap? And if she were a hunter, wouldn't she have a knife with her?"   
        "Well-"  
        "You know what? I'm not even going to bother arguing with you about this. Just let the poor girl go." Dipper's tone is almost bored, like he's dealt with this many times before. You wonder how many hikers these centaurs have kidnapped. Raymond obliges, stepping out from between the two of you to grab a pointy stick (maybe it's supposed to be a knife?) from the centaur who found you in the net. Dipper sees you for the first time, and you see recognition light up his face.  
        "(y/n)?" Dipper sounds really confused. He's probably wondering what on earth you're doing here. Your heart begins to beat a little faster, as you realize you don't have any excuse to be here that isn't related to your books. Crap.  
        You manage a weak smile, although doing so doesn't feel great after getting hit in the face. Raymond cuts you free, and you walk over to Dipper. It takes all of the willpower you have in an effort to not run straight into his arms. You've had a long day, and it's not even halfway over. Once you reach Dipper, he puts a hand gently on your shoulder.  
        "Are you okay, (y/n)?" he says gently. You nod. As he turns to the centaurs, his facial expression changes to one that is decidedly NOT gentle.  
        "If you kidnap even one more tourist, you can deal with the hunters on your own," he says, steel in his voice. As he walks you away, you look over your shoulder to see the group looking flustered, their eyes fixed on the ground. Once you are out of earshot, you speak up.  
        "What was that all about?" you ask, gesturing to the camp you just left.  
        "Oh." He sighs. "Some hunters have been setting up traps along the area where they run and hunt. A few of them have gotten hurt in them. They're not usually like that." He speaks pretty quickly, but you are able to follow what he is saying. You nod to signal your understanding, and silence stretches out between you as you walk to wherever Dipper is taking you.  
        "So..." Dipper says, trying to be casual. "What're you doing here?" He reddens. "Not to be rude. I mean, I'm glad you're here, but...um-"  
        "I felt like having an adventure," you say with a laugh. You decide not to make up a lie, but to feed him a partial truth. "I just graduated, and I kind of realized that now I have to be an adult. Like, get a job, pay the bills, yada yada yada. I just wanted a chance to be a kid one more time, and I seemed to remember someone really cool telling me about a spooky town called Gravity Falls." Dipper reddens when you say "someone really cool". It seems like he's still the same dork he used to be. But at the same time...he's not. He seems to have finally found some way to retain a small amount of muscle, and his hair, while messy, is less like a little boy's and more like a man's. You blush and look away, realizing that you've been staring, but luckily he's been to busy staring at his feet to notice.  
        "What about you?" you ask. "What are you still doing here?"  
        "Oh, you know." With the hand that isn't steadying you, he pushes his bangs out of his eyes. "Paranormal stuff. Centaurs." You can tell that he's trying to be cool, but the vibe he's going for is ruined when he walks straight into a low-hanging tree branch.  
        "Ow!" he says, rubbing his head. His face turns even redder than it already is, and he looks at you sheepishly.  
        "Whoa, that branch just viciously attacked you!" You laugh, tucking your arm around his waist as if to support him. "C'mon, you goofball. It looks like both of us need patching up now." He smiles, embarrassed, and puts his arm around you too. He continues to lead you, but you notice his steps are a little shaky. Hopefully he didn't hit his head too hard.  
        After a while, you come upon a strange-looking building. You read the sign on the roof.  
        "Mystery Hack." You chuckle. "Is that supposed to say, 'Shack'?"  
        "Yeah. We've tried lots of times, but we just can't get that 'S' to stay up."  
        "I kinda like it." You smirk. "It gives the place character."  
        "Oh, trust me," Dipper says with a laugh. "This place has plenty of that. Just wait." You go to open the door, but he stops you.  
        "Word to the wise." Dipper lowers his voice. "Don't buy anything my uncle is selling."  
        You laugh. "I'll keep that in mind."  
        The two of you enter the Mystery Shack. Dipper leads you through what must be the gift shop, which is filled with weird souvenirs, into what must be the kitchen. He hands you a bag of frozen corn from the freezer.  
        "Hold this to your face. I'll be right back." He walks off. After about a minute, he returns with a first aid kit. He gets out some antibacterial rinse and a bandage wrap and takes your hand. "This may sting a little." He squirts the rinse onto your wrists, which are raw from struggling against the rough fibers of the rope. He's right; it does sting, and you cringe, but as he cleans your wrist with a cloth, it's clear that he's trying to be gentle, so you don't complain. He cleans and bandages both of your wrists.  
        "Don't you need an ice pack for your forehead?" you ask. Dipper laughs nervously.  
        "No, it's not that bad. It's mostly my pride that took a hit." He smiles at you self-consciously.  
        "Well, don't worry, I won't tell a soul." You mime locking your lips and throwing away the key.  
        "Really?" Relief fills his voice.  
        "Really. Although if I ever feel sad, I might remember it and laugh," you say teasingly.  
        "Ha ha. I guess that's fair." He rubs the back of his neck. "Anyway, what were you doing in the woods so early this morning?"  
        It takes you maybe half a second to decide to keep the dream to yourself. "I was having trouble sleeping, so I figured I might as well enjoy the sunset."  
        "What, you couldn't enjoy it from your window?" He laughs.  
        "Ha. Unlike some people," you say, poking him in the ribs, "I enjoy physical activity."  
        "Okay, point taken." He rubs his ribs and smiles good-naturedly. A thought strikes you.  
        "Does Mabel still live here, too?" you ask. You and Mabel were best friends. It would be awesome to see her again.  
        "Well, duh!" Dipper laughs. "We couldn't be the Mystery Twins if we weren't together!"  
        "Can't argue with that logic!" A smile breaks across your face in spite of the nasty bruise on your cheek. You've missed hanging out with Mabel--she's the most positive person you've ever known! Plus, her enthusiasm for life in general is contagious, and you're always in a better mood after hanging out with her. "I'm assuming she's asleep?"  
        "Yeah, but probably not for long." Dipper points at the clock, which tells you the time is 7:30. "She wakes up pretty early, and I'm pretty sure she can smell excitement." As if on cue, you hear a high pitched squeal. coming from the stairs. Mabel is wearing a bedazzled hoodie and her biggest smile.  
        "OHMYGOSH! (Y/N)!" She runs over to you and envelops you in a bear hug. You can't exactly breathe right now, but you don't mind.  
        "It's good to see you too, Mabel!" you wheeze. She lets you go and smiles even bigger.  
        "Oh my gosh!" you say. "Did you get your braces off?"  
        "Yep!" Mabel somehow manages to widen her smile even more.  
        "Phew!" You act like you're being blinded. "I need some sunglasses to look at that smile!" Mabel giggles.  
        "I'm so happy you're here, (y/n)!" she says. "What's the occasion?"  
        "I realized that this was the only summer I had left where it was okay to not 'adult'," you say. "I remembered you guys raving about all the adventures you had here, and I thought I'd visit while I could."  
        "Wait," said Mabel, her eyes growing wide. "Are you here for an adventure?"  
        You laugh. "I guess you could say that!"  
        Mabel squeals again. "Dipper! Get the journal!" Dipper chuckles at his sister's excitement as he goes upstairs.  
        "Wait," you say. "Like, THE journal?"  
        "Yes!" Mabel smiles triumphantly. "Well, actually no, not like you're thinking. Dipper's not getting Journal 3, he's getting Journal 4."  
        "Journal 4?" You cock an eyebrow, intrigued.   
        "Yeah!" Mabel lowers her voice, but doesn't lose her enthusiasm. "Dipper and I have been working on it for a few years. For a while, we just kept adding to Journal 3, but we ran out of room!"   
        Your mind reels a bit at that. Four journals filled with crazy creatures? If you could see those journals, you'd never have writer's block again! After a bit of waiting that feels like forever, Dipper returns, holding a blue book with a silver hand on the front with the number 4 right in the middle. You notice that this hand only has five fingers, while you remember that the other journals had six. You figure that this is because of the change of authors--from what you heard, the original author, who had six fingers, died a while before you met the twins. Dipper sets the book down on the counter and aligns his hand with the one on the cover.  
        "I think you're going to get the adventure you came here for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading. I'm really excited for this story to get underway; I have really big plans for "you"! Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading. Remember: reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye! ;)


	3. Wait, That's Not a Fairy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet someone strangely familiar in the woods.

        You sit around the table with Dipper and Mabel, thumbing through the pages of Journal 4.  
        "This stuff is crazy!" you say. "There's really a race of tiny people living in and operating the mini-golf course?"  
        "Yes." Mabel nods solemnly. "They may be cute, but they are a bunch of tiny warmongers if you get on their bad side."  
        You laugh. "I'll try to keep that in mind!" You flip to the next page to see a detailed picture of a one-eyed triangle surrounded by various symbols. The entire page is filled with words, some in Dipper's handwriting, some in Mabel's. The writing about the triangle appears to span the next several pages, and the print is too small to be easily legible. At the top of the first page are the words "Bill Cipher", written larger than the other words.  
        "Why did you guys write so much about a Dorito?" you ask, only half joking. Mabel stifles a laugh, but Dipper's eyes narrow.  
        "That's Bill Cipher. He's by far the most dangerous thing in this book." Dipper touches the picture as if lost in memory.  
        "How bad can he be? He's just a triangle." You felt your interest being piqued. The guy looked pretty unassuming.  
        "I hope you never have to find out how bad he is." Dipper turns the page.  
        "OOH!" shouts Mabel. "This would be a perfect creature to start her out on."  
        You look at the page. A photo has been pasted in of a tiny winged creature. After hearing about a dangerous Dorito monster, fairies don't quite impress you as much as they should.  
        "Technically, the first creature I encountered was a centaur," you point out.  
        "Which is exactly why you should meet one of these next!" Mabel says, practically bouncing. "After meeting those grumpy goats, meeting a fairy is just what you need!"  
        Dipper clears his throat. "I think the politically correct term would be, 'grumpy horses'." You bite your lip to keep from cracking up.  
        "Tomayto, tomahto!" says Mabel, dismissively waving her hand. "My point is, a lighthearted creature will keep her from being scared off from this whole adventuring business!"  
        "Do you have any idea what kind of books I read?" you ask absently. Mabel continues on like she doesn't hear you.  
        "It's settled then! We're gonna go find ourselves a fairy!" Mabel starts towards the door, then seems to realize that she is wearing pajamas. She turns back to you. "Right after I put on some clothes!" She runs upstairs.  
        "Wow, she hasn't changed one bit!" you say with a chuckle.  
        "Yeah. I think that if we could somehow find a way to use her as a power source, we could solve the energy crisis." Dipper muses, earning a laugh from you. There's a moment of silence.  
        "Shouldn't you be putting on some clothes, too?" you ask. Dipper looks down at himself, his face flushing.  
        "Ha ha! Yeah! That's a good idea, (y/n)! I'm gonna-I'm gonna go upstairs now..." he says awkwardly, following his sister upstairs. You smile to yourself. It feels so nice to be back with the twins. You hadn't realized until now how much you missed them. You are really happy that you came to Gravity Falls. Even if you go home and your writer's block hasn't gone away, this trip will have been worth it to see your old friends. In the midst of your happiness, you feel a prickling on the back of your neck. You turn around to see if anyone's watching you, but there is no one there, and there's no window behind you for anyone to peer through, either. You immediately feel silly for thinking someone was watching you, and yet...the feeling that you are not alone does not subsist.  
        "(y/n)? What are you looking at?" Mabel's voice awakes you from your stupor.  
        "Oh, I was just checking the place out," you lie. There's no need for you to seem crazy. "By the way, if we're going outside, do you have some nude makeup I could borrow to cover this bruise on my cheek?"  
        "Oh yeah!" Mabel immediately opens up her backpack and pulls out a huge bag of makeup. She unzips it and pulls out liquid concealer and finishing powder.  
        "Whoa, Mabel! Do you carry that big bag of makeup with you everywhere?"  
        "Well, duh!" Mabel laughs like my question was silly. "You never know when there'll be a makeup-mergency! Now, hold still. This should take two minutes, tops."  
        Mabel sets about fixing the problem area on your face. Maybe a minute later, Mabel is holding a mirror in your face.  
        "Ta-da!" she shouts enthusiastically, doing jazz hands for emphasis. You admire her handiwork. You can hardly tell that the bruise is here. As you look at your cheek in the mirror, Dipper comes downstairs wearing actual clothes.   
        "You ready to-whoa, (y/n)!" Dipper says, surprised.  
        "Doesn't (y/n) look great?" says Mabel knowingly.  
        "Yes! I-I mean, um, her-her cheek looks, um, like a cheek?" Dipper's face reddens with every word he stumbles over.  
        "Thank you, Sir Dipper," you say in an over-the-top "fancy" voice. Dipper blushes even deeper. Mabel cracks up.  
        "C'mon, Lord Dippingsauce!" she says, dragging the two of you out the door. You smile. You can't believe you're actually going to be going on an adventure with the Mystery Twins! You feel like a character in one of your books. It's about time your life got interesting!  
        You, Mabel, and Dipper walk together down a narrow path through the woods.  
        "(y/n), try not to step in any traps this time!" Mabel says, looking back at you over her shoulder.  
        "Drat. You've foiled my plan," you retort. A small smile is permanently fixed on your face. You can't lie; you've dreamt of meeting a fairy since you were a little girl. While you aren't as outwardly enthusiastic about the prospect as Mabel, the idea secretly thrills you. "Are we almost there?"  
        "Ooh, is someone excited to meet a fairy?" says Dipper from behind you.  
        "Oh yeah. Childhood dreams coming true, people," you say in a joking manner to hide the truth behind your words. Judging from the knowing smile Mabel gives you, she knows you're just trying to play it cool.  
        "As a matter of fact, we are almost there," says Mabel.  
        "Um, Mabel?" says Dipper. "Are you sure this is the right way? This isn't the path in the journal."  
        "Chillax, bro-bro!" says Mabel lightheartedly. "I've gone this way plenty of times. It's a shortcut!"   
        "If you're sure..." You can tell from the tone of Dipper's voice that he is unsure. You're not surprised; as adventurous as he is, he's been an avid rule-follower for as long as you've known him. Suddenly, you hear a scream from your left. It's so blood-curdling that every hair on your body stands up. You gasp, but the twins don't seem to notice anything.  
        "What's wrong, (y/n)?" asks Mabel.  
        "You didn't hear that?" you say in a panicky voice.  
        "Didn't hear what?" You hear concern in Dipper's voice. Before you can explain, however, you hear another scream and instinct takes over. You run directly in the direction of the scream. Whoever is screaming like that must need help, and you're the only one who can hear them! You hear the twins yelling your name behind you, but you ignore them. After a while, the screaming stops, and you stop sprinting and stand still, listening carefully. Suddenly, before your eyes life seems to slow to a standstill, color dissipating until reality is a black and white photo. Except for you. Well, you and the well-dressed man in front of you. He has the most yellow hair you've ever seen, and his penguin suit matches. He wears a black dress shirt and a yellow tie with a single eye one it, and he wears a black top hat. His right eye is covered with a triangular eye patch, and you can see just a hint of pitch black behind it. Despite the fact that he appears to be about your age, he leans on a cane. His smirk is somewhat unnerving, and yet something about him seems so...familiar.  
        "Have we met before?" you ask breathlessly.  
        "It's a possibility." The man's smirk grows a bit. Something about his smile and the way he looks at you hits your heart with a pang. He bows, taking your hand and kissing it. The contact sends a shudder down your spine.  
        "Who are you?" Your voice sounds a little squeaky, even to you. He laughs, a harsh sound.  
        "Sorry. I forgot my manners." He takes off his top hat, and the world tilts on its axis. You fall over, but he catches your hand before you can hit the ground with one hand. He pulls you close to him and whispers, "The name's Bill Cipher."  
        You shove him back, your heart pounding like a snare drum.  
        "But...you're not a Dorito!" you say stupidly. He laughs again.  
        "You're a very perceptive person, Your Highness." He smiles with a few too many teeth. Your Highness?  
        "Are you mocking me?" You cross your arms defensively.  
        "Not in the slightest." He places a hand on your cheek, his brow furrowing. You know you should shove him off, but...  
        "Let me fix that for you," he says with a snap of his fingers. Not only does your face stop hurting, but your head and wrists do as well. You unwrap your bandages, just to be sure. Surely enough, your wrists are completely healed. If you had to guess, you'd say that the bruise probably was completely gone from your cheek.  
        "How did you-No." You realize that how he did it is not the right question. "WHY did you do that?"  
        "Good question!" Bill smiles menacingly, but for some reason, it's not that menacing to you. "I guess I don't want Pine Tree and Shooting Star filling your pretty little head with nonsense about me." He taps your chest with his cane. "You are VERY important to me."  
        Your stomach starts to turn from the implications of everything he's saying...from the familiarity you feel around him...  
        "Speaking of Pine Tree and Shooting Star, they should be here any second now." Bill checks an old-timey watch from his pocket. "Now, I'd advise you not to say anything to them about me, but I have a feeling you wouldn't listen to me. Anyway, I'll be seeing you very soon." And with that, he disappears just a suddenly as he appeared. The world returns to full color, which almost seems stranger than the greyscale.  
        "(y/n)!" comes a shout from behind you. Your heart is going about a bajillion miles an hour. You're so out of it that you don't even bother to turn around.  
        "(y/n), what happened?" You feel a hand on your shoulder and another takes the hand that isn't clenched against your stomach. The twins have found you.  
        "I-I don't really feel like meeting fairies right now," you say, trying to keep your voice steady.  
        "Why? What-hey, where'd your bruise go?" Dipper says. You look at the discarded bandages at your feet.  
        "I met the Dorito, but he was a person," you mutter.  
        "What? What does that mean?" says Mabel. You look at her gravely.  
        "I'll explain everything," you say, "but I think you may want to sit down for this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so excited for this chapter that I couldn't stop myself from writing it! So exciting! How do "you" know Bill? How is he appearing as a human? What does this mean for "your" stay in Gravity Falls? One thing's for sure: "your" next book is going to be the best you've ever written! Thanks so much for the reads and kudos. I'll update as soon as I can! :)


	4. Stupid Megalomaniac

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get a little distracted while you're driving.

        The twins hang on your every word as you speak, sitting on their bedroom floor.  
        "I'm not sure how to even explain what happened," you begin. "I heard screaming, and I followed it...then suddenly the world was frozen, and all the color was gone from the world, except for me and Demon Dorito guy."  
        "You said he appeared as a person?" Dipper's voice sounds like it did when he was going through puberty, so you can tell that the prospect of Bill not being a triangle terrifies him. You nod and explain his appearance, deciding to leave out how familiar he seemed to you.  
        "He kind of sounds like a hottie!" says Mabel absently. Dipper stares at her, mouth gaping, and elbows her.  
        "What?" She shrugs. "Just saying!"  
        "Anyway," you move on, "he didn't say much. He mostly just introduced himself and healed my injuries. He was very..." You pause to ponder your word choice. "...friendly." Dipper frowns.  
        "Why would he heal you?" asks Mabel.  
        "Yeah," says Dipper. "Half the time, even when you make a deal with him, he doesn't do what he promises. It's weird that he would do something 'nice' without expecting something in return." He uses air quotes around the word "nice".  
        "He did say..." You hesitate. The twins seem terrified of Bill, and you don't want to worry them, but you need to understand what's going on and they know a lot more about the strange things that happen here than you do. "He did say that he wanted me to trust him, and he didn't want me to believe the things you said about him. He said I'm 'very important to him'. Whatever that means." You force laughter, trying to downplay the whole situation, but honestly, you're pretty freaked out. The twins don't laugh, though; they just look at each other gravely.  
        "It's okay, (y/n)!" Mabel says, still looking at Dipper. "You're going to be fine." She finally looks at you. "We just need to keep you away from Bill, that's all." You might have been convinced, but Mabel's smile doesn't quite reach her eyes, and Dipper isn't smiling at all. Actually, Dipper kind of looks like he's going to throw up.  
        "Dipper...?" you say cautiously. "Are you okay?" He nods, but his face is pale and he won't look at you. You're not sure what to say to either of the twins in light of recent events, so you decide to go splash some cold water on your face. You stand up.  
        "I'll be right back," you say, and you head to the restroom. You splash water on your face, and then look up at your reflection. You jump back when you see yourself--you're glowing. You look majestic. There's not a flaw on your face, and your eyes sparkle. However, after blinking, your reflection turns to normal. You touch the glass lightly.  
        "What just happened?" you whisper, your voice hardly more than a breath. You blink a few more times, trying to get back the perfect version of you, but you stay the same as you have always been. You chalk it up to a stress-induced hallucination and exit the restroom. On your way back to the twins' room, you hear hushed voices. You walk as quietly as you can so that you can get close enough to hear. You have a feeling that the twins won't really be telling you anything about the danger you'e in.  
        "...can't believe this is happening again!" You recognize Dipper's voice, and stay still, listening. "I thought Bill was finally gone! Why would he return just as (y/n) came back? How is he a HUMAN? Did he possess a body? Did he gain a physical form? Is he only appearing that way through his power over the Mindscape?" You don't even have to be able to see to know he's pacing.  
        "I dunno, Dip. Do you think he might be appearing in a way that might have more...SWAY...over her?" asks Mabel.  
        "What do you mean?" The sound of creaking floorboards stops, so you assume that Dipper has just stopped pacing.  
        "Well, you saw her blush when I said he sounded hot," reasons Mabel. "Plus, what do you think she meant by 'friendly'?"  
        "Mabel, I can't believe you would even say that," says Dipper. "He's a dream demon! (y/n) is smart. There's no way she would ever...ugh. Just...no." You feel your face grow hot. Truth be told, up until you found out who he was, you thought he was...intriguing. Plus, the way you felt around him, that "familiarity", almost reminded you of the way you might feel around a former lover.  
        "Yuck." you whisper to yourself. You decide that wherever this conversation is going, it isn't anywhere good. You open the door and walk inside, trying to act unsuspicious. Don't mind me, you think. I wan't listening at the door or anything.  
        "What'd I miss?" you ask nonchalantly.  
        "Well, Mabel and I were talking, and we don't think it's safe for you to be on your own when you seem to be Bill's target," says Dipper.  
        "We want you to live here until you leave!" says Mabel, excited as always.  
        "I mean, technically we can't force you to do anything." Dipper scratches the back of his head. "But we can't guarantee your safety when you're not with us." From what you heard, you're not sure if they can guarantee your safety when you ARE with them, but...  
        "Okay," you relent. You smile. "It's a good thing I haven't unpacked yet!" You can visibly see some of the tension release from Dipper's shoulders, and Mabel grins like she's just eaten a whole box of Smile Dip. "I've just gotta go get my stuff."  
        Dipper drives you and Mabel to your lodge on the edge of the woods. Mabel talks the whole time, filling you in on all of the stuff that's happened since they moved away. Apparently, Mabel works a myriad of jobs that are just perfect for her; she's a party planner, a hair and makeup artist, and a fashion designer. She's hasn't gotten big yet, but even the girls who used to pick on her wear her stuff now. She shows you a few pictures on her phone of her work, and you can't help but laugh. The dresses she shows you are so sparkly and fun, just like Mabel.  
        "They're perfect," you say with a smile. "I'd better grab one of those dresses before they cost more than my entire education." Mabel blushes.  
        "Thanks, you!" She waves her hand in an "awe shucks" kind of way. "Dipper, you wanna tell her what you've been doing with your life?" Dipper's eyes don't leave the road.  
        "Not while I'm driving, Mabel," he says.  
        "Suit yourself, nerd." Mabel laughs. She explains that he finished college at an accelerated rate, and he now is one of the world's leading experts in cryptology and cryptozoology.  
        "I keep sending in pictures of the creatures we find," explains Dipper, apparently having been enticed away from his "no talking while driving" rule, "but no matter how convincing they are people say that they are fake, for one reason or another. But I know the truth, and so do a lot of other people." He makes a small smile, his eyes still fixed on the road. "And that's enough."  
        "What about you, (y/n)?" asks Mabel. "What have you been doing these six, long years?" You panic for a moment, not wanting to tell them about your books. You make a split-second decision to gloss over the truth.  
        "Writing, mostly." You try to act like it's no big deal. "I just earned my Master's Degree in English, with an emphasis on creative writing. I'm planning on wrapping up my education with a PhD and becoming a professor." You smile, relieved that you managed to tell the twins what's been going on in your life without technically "lying".  
        "Whoa, you've got this all planned out, (y/n)!" Mabel says. She smiles deviously. "Hey, don't they say that those who can't, teach?" She pokes you in the ribs and you force laughter. You hate it when people say that. You have had so many wonderfully talented teachers in various subjects over the years who taught not because they could do nothing else, but because they wanted to inspire the next generation. Plus, in your case it is painfully untrue; you have already proven that you can many times before. But Mabel can't possibly know any of that, and you can never tell her, so you laugh.  
        "Yeah," you pretend to agree. "I don't wanna be another starving writer!" You smile through your teeth. Mabel laughs, and you hear Dipper chuckle. Although you may be a little frustrated at the ignorance of what Mabel just said, you still feel a pang of regret as you realize that now you have truly lied to her and Dipper. Luckily, you don't have much time to think about that before Dipper says,  
        "We're here."  
        You quickly unbuckle and get out of the car.  
        "Thanks for the ride!" you say. "You two can go ahead to the Mystery Shack. I'll be right behind you!"  
        "Um, are you sure (y/n)?" asks Dipper.  
        "Yeah, I'd feel a lot better if one of us came with you," says Mabel, worry lines appearing on her forehead.  
        "I'll be fine!" You wave your hand dismissively. "I literally have, like, two bags. You two go on without me!" The twins still seem unsure, but after a bit more convincing they go ahead. You're grateful; you need a minute to yourself. You enter the old cabin and, for a moment, mourn the loss of such a creepy haven in which to do your work. Although, you remind yourself, the Mystery Shack has its own creepy vibe as well. You walk into the bedroom and grab your laptop and suitcase, quickly changing into some plain blue jean shorts and a yellow cardigan. You put your bags in the bed of your truck with your writing stuff and drive off. After a few minutes of peaceful driving, you feel someone playing with your hair. You look over to see...  
        "Bill!" You panic and jerk the car wheel a bit, causing it to swerve. You correct the movement and watch the road, only stealing an occasional glance at your new companion. "What are you doing here, you overgrown Dorito?" Bill laughs at you.  
        "You've really got a thing for Doritos, huh, (y/n)?" Although your eyes are glued to the road, you can feel him grinning.  
        "What do you want, Bill?" you say through gritted teeth.  
        "You look good in yellow," Bill notes absently, avoiding your question. "It suits you." He continues playing with your hair, and you try to convince yourself that you hate every second of it.  
        "Get out of my car."  
        "Yes, your Majesty." His hand settles on the back of your neck, making you sit up straight as a stick. He pauses. "I'll be seeing you again very soon. Now, you might wanna wake up before you get in an accident..."  
        You jolt awake to the sound of a horn blaring and headlights shining in your eyes. You scream, jerking the wheel. Your car goes back into your lane, just barely missing a head-on collision. You shake, eyes plastered wide open in terror. What just happened? You weren't even tired...how did you fall asleep? You glare at the road in front of you as you realize that only one person could have dragged you into sleep like that.  
        "Bill." You spit the word out like poison. "That megalomaniac Dorito almost killed me." You realize that he must've dragged you into "the Mindscape," whatever that is. You decide to ask Dipper more about it sometime. Suddenly, it occurs to you that if you tell the twins about this encounter that they might never let you out of their sight again. How would you get any writing done? Plus, privacy is a thing. You sigh as you realize that you now have another thing to keep from the only two people who can help you right now.  
        "Perfect." You turn on the radio to think about something, anything, else for a while.  
        "Just perfect."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, looks like things are staring to get really interesting...How are "you" going to continue keeping secrets from the twins? They have trust issues enough as it is! And what was that you saw in the mirror? So many questions!  
> On another note, three bookmarks, ten kudos, and 154 hits already?! I can't thank you guys enough! Seeing that really motivates me to add even more to this story. I'm really excited for where things are going, and I have big plans! Hey, if you see any errors in my work, or if you have questions or suggestions, please comment or message me and let me know! I LOVE hearing back from you guys. I will comment back whenever I can. :) Remember: reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!


	5. Trust Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You freak the twins out and Dipper is Salty™.

        "Hello? (Y/n)? Are you there?" Dipper shakes your shoulder. You nod feebly. You look back at the fairy who gave you this harp. Its light has grown brighter. Does that mean that whatever you just saw excited it?  
        "What just happened?" you ask angrily. "What did I just see? Did I just hallucinate? I don't even know how to play the harp!" The fairy makes a high-pitched giggle that makes you want to take out a flyswatter.   
        "No, silly! That wasn't a hallucination!" The fairy giggles again. You feel sick.   
        "If that wasn't a hallucination, what was it?" you ask desperately. The fairy just giggles once again and comes up to your ear.   
        "A memory," whispers the fairy.   
        "What is it, (y/n)?" Dipper asks nervously. "What did you see? What was the memory?" You steel yourself to keep from throwing up. Why do you have memories that you don't remember? And why is Bill, of all people, in them?  
        "It was something I should never have seen," you say. You look at the harp in his hands. Maybe if you could play it for just a little longer, you would see something that would make things a little clearer. Dipper follows your gaze and holds the harp tighter.   
         "Oh, heck no." He looks at you like he can't imagine why you'd want to hold the harp again. "That was too weird. You're not touching this again until you tell us what you saw." When he says that, you hear angry muttering from the fairies. They swarm in a cloud before you. Dipper takes a defensive step in front of you.   
         "That isn't yours to keep away from her!" yells the fairy who handed you the harp. You honestly can't identify it in this swarm. "Give it back to her!" The other fairies yell in agreement.   
         "Really, guys," you say to the fairies, trying to appease them. "It's fine. He'll give it back to me when I have a chance to explain what I saw." You look at Dipper to see him looking guiltily at the floor. It occurs to you that he will probably try to keep the harp away from you forever to keep you safe. But he'll come around once you explain that you need it for answers...right?  
         "Give the harp to her." The swarm begins to glow a darker color, and you hear growling. You take Dipper's and Mabel's hand and start taking slow, cautious steps back.   
         "Wow, would you look at the time?" you say uneasily. "We'd better be getting back before Stan notices we're missing."  You tug on the twins, encouraging them to take bigger steps back. The fairies glow a menacing black.   
         "You're not going anywhere." The fairies all speak at once. They speak at a very low frequency, but they somehow manage to keep the same vocal quality. The effect is a voice that sounds chills you to the bone more than Bill's.   
         "Okay, when I say 'run', run," Dipper says in a quiet voice that struggles to keep its forced calm. You begin to shake as more fairies join the swarm. You're not sure if they'll hurt you or Mabel, but they don't seem too happy with Dipper.   
         "Any time now, Dipper..." you mutter.   
         "RUN!" he screams. The instant you hear his voice, you turn on your heels and sprint in the direction you came. You can hear the buzzing of the swarm close behind you. You don't turn around for fear of falling behind. All you can do is pray that the twins are with you. You hear a sharp "Ouch!" beside you. You glance over to see Dipper clutching the side of his head. You see a bit of red on his fingers. What did the fairies DO?  
         "We're almost there!" yells Mabel. You push yourself past all of your preconceived "limits" and sprint for the door.   
         "SOOS!" Dipper yells. "SOOOOOS!!!" In response, a somewhat chubby, vaguely Hispanic man sticks his head out of the open window.   
         "What are you dudes doing?" Soos yells with a laugh.   
         "SOOS CLOSE THE WINDOW!" Dipper yells hysterically. "CLOSE IT NOW!"  
         "Whoa, dude! Alright!" Soos closes the window and opens the door for you guys. "Chill out, Dipper!" You and the twins rush through the door and you grab it, nearly shoving Soos over, and pull it shut as quickly as possible. You hear a sound like a thousand marbles hitting the ground as the fairies slam into the door.  
         "I really hope none of them get in here." Dipper rubs his head.   
         "That's for sure!" Mabel stretches out on the ground. You walk up to Soos and help him up (since you knocked him over and all).  
         "I'm so sorry. Soos, right?" You pull him to his feet.   
         "Yep. That's me." He smiles.   
         "Well, I'm sorry Soos," you say. "I apparently suck at first impressions lately. I promise there is a perfectly valid reason for why I basically just assaulted you."  
         "Don't even worry about it, dude!" Soos waves you off with a laugh. "I'm used to it by now. Don't forget, I've been friends with these two for ten years." He gestures to the twins. "Anyway, what's your name?"  
         "It's (y/n)," you say, reaching out to shake his hand. He takes it and shakes. His hands are a little sweaty, but he has good handshake. You smile. "Thanks for being so chill about me shoving you over."  
         "Nah, don't even mention it dude," he says. "I would like to know what you guys were running from though."  
         "Oh." You run a hand through your hair. "You know. Fairies."  
         "Whoa, really?" Soos's eyebrows shoot up. He scratches the back of his head. "Those little dudes are usually so chill."  
         "Yeah." You sigh. "It must be my winning personality. Apparently I have this same effect on centaurs." Soos laughs.   
         "Well, don't worry dude." He claps your shoulder. "I'm sure you're just getting these sucky encounters out of the way so the rest of your time here will be great."  
         "Yeah, maybe!" You smile feebly. You'd like to believe that, but you have a nasty feeling that it's only going to get worse from here. You turn your attention to the twins. Mabel looks kind of upset, but she doesn't look hurt. Dipper on the other hand, is holding the side of his head with his hand. You can see a tiny bit of blood seeping through his fingers. You turn to Mabel.  
         "Mabel, could you grab me a first aid kit and bring it to the kitchen?" you ask. she nods, clearly out of it. You walk up to Dipper and pull him to his feet.   
         "C'mon, Dipping sauce." You tease him to mask your worry. What if he has a concussion or something? The sight of blood does nothing to ease your worry. You lead him to the kitchen. He doesn't take his hand off of his head, so you can't see the damage. You sit him on the counter.   
        "Alright, Dip. Can you put your hand down for me?" You feel anxious as he obliges, but luckily it looks like the blood is coming from bite marks on his ear. The only other injury you can see is a small, dark bruise on his temple. You sigh in relief.   
        "Gosh, Dipper!" You giggle. "You're such a pansy! This isn't even bad!"  
        "Oh, shut up." Dipper blushes. "It hurts a lot worse than it looks."  
        "Uh-huh," you say seriously. "I'm sure it does."  
        "It does! When fairies get riled up, they change a lot. They become pixies." Dipper raises his eyebrows, as if that justifies his point.   
        "Dipper, that literally means nothing to me."  
        "Okay. So it's like, their teeth begin secreting a poison, and they get stronger. And more violent." He gestures to his ear. "One of them bit my ear, and while it was wriggling around, trying to get more of the poison in, it punched me in the temple. It was a lot of force behind a tiny bit of area." He pinches his fingers together to demonstrate the tiny size of the area.   
         "Could you go back to that poison bit?" you ask. "I'm still hung up on that. Do we need to get you an antidote or something?" Dipper shrugs you off.   
         "It's fine. If I were a bug or something, I would be in trouble, but on a person my size it just causes intense pain in the area of the bite." He rubs his ear again. "Honestly, my head hurts worse." You grab a bag of frozen vegetables from the freezer and hand it to him. He looks at it before applying it to his face.   
         "Peas? Really, (y/n)?" He shakes his head with mock hurt. "I thought we were closer than that." You laugh.  
         "We're not that close," you say in a silly voice. He traces a line down his cheek with his finger to imitate a tear.   
         "I misjudged you," he says solemnly. You laugh again and turn his hat sideways. Mabel comes in the room, still looking pretty upset, holding a first aid kit.   
         "Thanks, Mabel!" you say with a big smile. She shrugs and leaves the room. You turn to Dipper as you get a bandage out of the kit. "What's up with her?" you whisper.   
         "Well, when she was little she loved fairies and unicorns. When she found out that unicorns were jerks, she kind of took solace in the fact that at least the fairies were nice." Dipper looks down sadly. "If I had to guess, she's upset because now it turns out that fairies are mean too. I guess we'll know if we find her having a bonfire with everything she owns with a fairy on it." You laugh at the last part.   
         "I'm sorry, that's not funny." You force a straight face. "It's just...will she really do that?" Dipper nods with ferocity, then seems to regret it because he winces.   
         "That's what she did when a unicorn tried to con her into thinking she was a bad person. I can only assume that's what she'll do now."  
          You whistle. "Dang. I hope she's okay." You use an antibacterial wipe on the bite mark on his ear.   
          "I'm sure she'll be fine." He winces. "Dang. That really does sting." You laugh, putting a bandage on it.   
          "There you go. Now we're even." You smile at him.   
          "Thank you." He smiles back. His smile fades all too quickly. "Now that that's out of the way..." He clears his throat. You know what's coming next.   
          "I don't know how to explain my dream, or, whatever it is, without sounding like a crazy person," you explain. Dipper raises his eyebrows at you.   
          "Are you forgetting who you're talking to?" he asks. You chuckle.   
          "Touché, Dipper. Touché." You explain the vision as best you can. As you talk, Dipper's face grows paler and paler.   
          "How is that possible?" he asks once you're finished. You shrug noncommittally.   
          "I don't know, but it would explain why Bill is so..." You search for the right word.   
          "Crazy?" suggests Dipper.   
          "Familiar," you finish with a snap of your fingers. "He seems familiar."  
          "Familiar?" Dipper laughs nervously. "How is that even possible?"  
          "I don't know, but I think the answers lie in your hands." You look at the harp, which Dipper is holding halfway behind him as if to keep it out of your view.   
          "No." Dipper's face hardens. "That was too weird. Aside from the whole fiasco with the pixies, when you were playing, you started singing in some ancient language. I only picked up bits of phrases because of the limited similarity it bore with Latin, but what I understood, I didn't like. Plus, the language sounded like a predecessor to Latin! How old would that language have to be? How would you know any of it? It was like you were possessed! Your eyes became glassy and I-well, I—"  
          "Dipper!" You grab his shoulder. "I understand that it's strange, but I need answers! Don't you want me to find answers?"  
          "No!" Dipper yells. You are caught off guard.   
          "...no?" you say quietly. Dipper turns red and looks away, but he doesn't take it back. "If what the fairies said was true, and what I saw really is a memory that I lost...isn't it my right to find out more?" Dipper looks up from the floor.   
          "If your memories have Bill in them, acting like your friend, why would you want them back?" His voice is laced with steel.   
          "What's the matter, Dipper?" You glare. "Are you afraid of what I'll find if I go poking around in my past?" His eyes begin to grow red. He IS afraid, you realize. You feel a sharp stab of hurt. "What do you think, Dipper? Do you think that if I find out that I used to be friends with Bill, I'll abandon everything I've learned and heard about him, leave you and Mabel, and run off to join his demon army?" Dipper looks back up at you. He shakes his head to tell you no, but his ever-reddening face tells another story. You begin to walk away, disgusted. You hear a sigh.   
           "(Y/n), wait—" Dipper says.   
           "I can't believe you," you say. You can feel your voice threaten to betray you as soon-to-fall tears choke your vocal cords. You look at him for only a moment before storming out. If he wanted to talk, he had a chance. You need a minute to yourself. You walk into your room, locking the door behind you, and throw yourself on the bed. Even as you tell yourself that you haven't seen this kid in 6 years and he really shouldn't hold any emotional power over you, you begin to cry. How could he doubt your character in such a hurtful way? He, of all people, should understand your need for answers. And yet, here he is, taking the one thing that could give you answers and keeping away from you because he doubts the strength of your character. Sobs rack your body.   
             "Stupid," you say to yourself. "Serves me right for caring about a guy." You really should have learned your lesson about guys by now, but you thought Dipper was different. After all, when your date to junior prom ditched you at the last minute to go with another girl he thought was "hotter", who cancelled his plans and took you instead? Dipper. You choke back a sob. He must have changed since then. This weird town has made his trust issues even worse than they already were. You realize that if he's not going to be considerate of your feelings, you are under no obligation to respect his. You decide in an instant that you are going to steal that harp and get the answers you need.   
           Whether Dipper likes it or not. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some really big stuff is coming up, you guys. I cannot even explain how excited I am. I really hope "you" succeed at getting the harp. If you don't, I really wouldn't wanna be "you"...


	6. Old Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The salt continues and a bit of important backstory is revealed.

When you emerge from your room, your eyes are dry. No one needs to know the hurt you feel inside. You walk into the main area of the gift shop and see Stan waiting for you.  
"Ah, there you are, (y/n)!" he says. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show." You force a smile.  
"I'm ready to get to work!" you say as enthusiastically as you can.  
"Alright! Well, the girl who used to work the gift shop finally got herself a real job, so I need you to work in here." He gestures around the room. "Just try not to be too rude to the customers, and encourage them to buy as much stuff as possible."  
"Okay." You look around. "Anything else?"  
"Actually, yeah." Stan points at an incredibly fake-looking "monster". "When customers come in and look at things like that, make up stories for them. I think they all have names attached, but if they don't, make up some random name, too." You really smile now. This should be great practice for your stories! Maybe, if you really like one of the backstories you come up with, you can work it into your next book. Maybe this day isn't going to be a total bust, after all.  
"Yes, sir." You smile eagerly. Stan smirks.  
"Suck-up," he says as he walks away. You walk over to the counter and sit down. You stare at the creature Stan pointed out. It looks like a turtle with a goat horn glued to its head with fake fur on its shell. Actually, that's probably what it is. You set about creating a backstory for it. Maybe it has the horn so that anything that tries to eat it will be gored, and the green-tinted fur is to blend in with its surroundings? Or does the horn secrete poison, and it takes the fur from dead creatures to keep itself warm? You are jerked out of your creative state when Dipper walks in, his hands in his pockets, looking sheepish. You pull out your phone and pretend to be busy so that he won't talk to you, but he approaches you anyway.  
"Hey, (y/n)," he says quietly. You ignore him and continue looking at your phone. He waits for a moment, and then puts one hand over your screen and another on your free hand. "Can we talk?" You look up at him.  
"Well, technically speaking, we possess the ability to talk, but I lack the desire to talk to you," you say. He sighs.  
"Look, I understand how you must feel." He looks into your eyes, trying to connect to you.  
"If you understand, then why would you still keep the harp from me?" you ask. "It hurts that you don't trust me enough to make my own decisions." What you don't say is how much worse it hurts coming from him.  
"It's not about trust, (y/n)," Dipper says. "It's about keeping you safe."  
"So then you don't trust me to keep myself safe?" You raise your eyebrows. Dipper groans.  
"Like I said earlier, it was like you were possessed. Having been possessed before, I know that it doesn't matter how strong or intelligent you are; if you're possessed, you cannot control yourself." Dipper's eyes are pleading.  
"Maybe I could just do it in small segments?" you ask. "And you could be around, to take the harp from me if things get too weird."  
"I understand your need for answers, (y/n)." Dipper brushes hair out of your eyes. "But there has to be a safer way to get them. I just..." He sighs. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you. You're very important to me." He leans forward and kisses your forehead, and you stiffen. Not because of him kissing your forehead, although that is...interesting. No, you stiffen because you've heard those exact words before, said in a very different way, by a very different man, under very different circumstances. He pulls back and smiles at you, and you manage to return the smile, but you are chilled by the possibility of any connection between Dipper and Bill.  
"Are you still mad at me?" he asks. You roll your eyes and shake your head.  
"You know I can never stay mad at you," you say jokingly. He laughs, but a familiar tension hangs between the two of you. He is still very close to you, and you recognize the look on his face...he is about to kiss you. Before you can contemplate what that means and how you feel about it, Mabel walks in.   
"Who wants to have a bonfire tonight?" she says enthusiastically. You quickly lean back, feeling your face heat up.  
"That sounds great!" you say. Your voice sounds a little higher than usual. You hate that. You force it to return to its normal octave as you continue. "What's the occasion?" You're pretty sure you already know, but...  
"I'm gonna burn all my old fairy stuff!" she says brightly. Dipper gives you an I-told-you-so look, and you laugh.  
"You seem awfully happy about that!" you say.  
"Well duh! We're going to be burning the likeness of something that has hurt me!" She laughs, as if that weren't an incredibly creepy thing to say. "Anyway, I've gotta go gather up everything with a fairy on it. See ya later!" She practically skips out of the room.  
"You know, sometimes I think that happy demeanor masks a future serial killer," you say absently. Dipper laughs.  
"Yeah. I'd hate to be on her bad side," he admits. He looks at you like he wants to say something, but a customer walks in, giving you an excuse to cut the conversation short.  
"I should probably get back to work," you say. Dipper nods in a somewhat disappointed way that confirms that he was about to say something else.  
"Yeah. I'll...um, see you at the bonfire tonight." He waves before walking upstairs. You watch him as he leaves. You aren't sure how to feel right now. On one hand, he's keeping you in the dark. On the other, he's only doing it out of a desire to keep you safe. On a somewhat unrelated note (so maybe on one foot (?)), he was totally about to kiss you. And you might've let him, if Mabel hadn't walked in. You're not sure what to think about that, given your...complicated...history together. Because if he had kissed you, it wouldn't have been the first time.  
Your "relationship" started about six years ago, when your date for junior prom ditched you at the last minute and Dipper, who hadn't been planning on going at all, rented a suit and took you himself. At first, it just seemed like he did that to be nice to his sister's friend, but as the night wore on, you began to get a different vibe. The strangest part of it was that you didn't mind at all. Nothing ended up happening that night, but after that night, the two of you began hanging out more one-on-one. After about a month, you two went "out" for the first time. You had just finished watching a nerdy movie together, and when he dropped you off at your home, he leaned over and kissed you. After that, the two of you decided to begin dating in secret (so that Mabel wouldn't freak out). You dated like this for months, acting mostly normal in groups, but talking intimately with each other and kissing in private, but when you found out that he was moving, you broke it off.  
"After all," you said, "if we aren't even open about our relationship now, when we live in the same place, what would a long-distance relationship be like?" But even though you initiated the breakup, you were pretty hurt by it, and you used to often wonder what could've been different had the two of you been more open about your relationship. And now, six years later, after you thought you had gotten over it, it turns out the two of you might still feel the exact same way you did six years ago, when the Pines moved away.  
"Does this shirt look good on me?" A scrawny man poses for you wearing a shirt about three sizes too big.  
"Sure," you say absently. "Do you want that in a bag?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Wow, it looks like things are heating up for "you" this summer! What are you going to do? Are you going to trust Dipper's judgement, and try to find answers without the harp, or will you take matters (and the harp) into your own hands? Also, "you" haven't heard from Bill in a while. I wonder what'll happen at that bonfire...  
> BTW, I know this is a shortish chapter, but that is because the next chapter I post is going to be an extra-long one. I've been hinting about big stuff to come, well...some of it is coming, very, very soon. ;)  
> On a side note, I can't believe that this story has gotten so many reads in its first week. You are the actual best. Comment with your thoughts, questions, and requests (and any errors you see), and I will comment back whenever I can. Thank you guys so much, and remember: reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye! :)


	7. Ancient Flame Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers

Mabel tosses a sparkly sweater onto the fire.  
"Burn!" she yells. Everyone cheers. And by "everyone", you mean EVERYONE--you're fairly certain that Mabel invited the whole town to come to this burning.  
"I'm kind of surprised that so many people came to watch her burn sweaters," you whisper to Dipper, who sits beside you. He laughs.  
"Yeah. She has this power over people that I will never understand," he says. "Most of the time, I don't even come downstairs when she throws parties like this. They aren't really my thing."  
"If you don't like parties, then why did you come?" you ask. He blushes.  
"I-um, well, I guess I heard this really cool girl was going to be here." He smiles at you, and weaves his fingers through yours. You feel your face burn. The two of you didn't even hold hands in public when you were dating. Could he be flirting with you to get your mind off the harp? Before you can think too much on the possibility, your phone rings. You pull it out of your pocket.  
"Oh, crap." A knot forms in your stomach. It's Kevin, your editor. You give Dipper an apologetic look. "I have to take this." You walk away and answer the phone before he can ask who is calling.  
"(y/n)." Kevin sounds furious.  
"It's nice to hear from you, too," you say, trying to lighten the mood.  
"I have not heard from you in days. The execs have been reaming me about deadlines and quarterlies and expecting me to tell them something about your progress. I have been pulling lies out of my butt! And it's not like I can give them your number or anything, because that would ruin your little secret. Which, still, totally boggles me. Where are you?" Your editor (who also kind of functions like an agent) is the only person you know who can speak at ninety miles an hour but still be understandable. Maybe you're just used to him by now.  
"I understand your frustration, Kevin," you say calmly. Speaking in any other way stresses him out and makes him unintelligible. "I'm in Gravity Falls."  
"Wait, isn't that the place that inspired this whole thing?" He almost sounds excited.  
"Yeah." You lean against a doorframe and speak as softly as you can with the noise. "I came here to find my inspiration again." Kevin groans.  
"Ugh, are you STILL struggling from writer's block?" he asks. You aren't sure if you're still struggling with it, actually, since you haven't tried writing since you got here. You're not about to tell him that, though.  
"Yeah. I was hoping that the strange atmosphere would get my creative juices flowing again."  
"And?" Kevin says expectantly. "How's it going?" You see Dipper turn around and look at you, probably wondering who's on the line. You think about all of the experiences you've had since arriving here: seeing the twins again, meeting a Dorito Demon, getting kidnapped by centaurs, having harp-induced hallucinations-slash-memories...  
"It's going great," you decide. "I have enough material to write a whole new series."  
"Then why don't you come home and we can arrange a meeting with the wigs?" he asks eagerly. You panic. Maybe you should have said things were going poorly.  
"Well, I don't know." You try to come up with an excuse. "I mean, if I've come up with this much material in less than two days, imagine what I'd come up with if I stayed the whole summer!" Kevin laughs.  
"The whole summer?" His words are broken up by laughter. "(y/n), doesn't that seem a tad excessive?"  
"Listen, I haven't really taken a vacation in six years," you say defensively. "All I've ever done since starting this series is work, work, work. I haven't even had a boyfriend since high school. I think I've earned a little break."  
"Wait, is that what this is about?" he says disbelievingly. "Is there a guy there?"  
"You're missing the point, Kevin." You feel your face grow hot and you're suddenly very glad that this isn't a video chat. "The point is, I need a break. And you can't really complain, since my 'break' is still pretty focused on this book." There's a pause, and then you hear a big sigh on the other end of the line.  
"I can't control you, (y/n)," he says. "Please just make sure you meet your deadlines, and I expect updates at least once a week. And sometime soon, we need to schedule a video conference with the big wigs so that they'll get off of my back."  
"Okay."  
"Oh, and one more thing." He pauses to take a breath. "Enjoy yourself."  
You smile. "Thanks, Kevin." The line goes dead. Although you are happy that the issue with your editor worked itself out, now you feel kind of strange about not having written anything since arriving here. You haven't written in two days. You haven't gone that long without writing since the twins moved away. You should be feeling twitchy and itching to pour your soul out on paper, but you're not. It probably has to do with the whole thing with the harp. Will you even be able to write anything until you solve this mystery? You look back at the bonfire. Dipper has turned to conversation with someone else, and Mabel is still throwing things on the fire--apparently, she had a LOT of fairy memorabilia. You realize that now is your chance to get the harp. Dipper wanted you to wait and try to get answers another way, but you have a feeling that this harp is your only option. You don't know when you'll get an opportunity like this again. You decide to risk it. You enter the house, move through the crowd of people, and head up the stairs. You open the door to the twins' room. You've never been in here before, but it's easy to tell which side of the room is Dipper's. While Mabel's side is loud and sparkly, his side is organized chaos--papers and diagrams cover every inch of wall, and books and journals litter the bad and are stacked on the floor.  
"Where would he put a magical hallucinogenic harp?" you muse. You decide to look under the bed, although you're sure there's no way such a suspicious person would put it in such an obvious place. You peer under and see...the harp.  
"Why would he put it here?" you say aloud.  
"Pine Tree never dreamed you'd come up here and steal it." You'd recognize the voice behind you anywhere. You turn around angrily.  
"Dang it, Bill!" you say. "Don't you have anything better to do?"  
"Nope!" He floats over to you through the air in a paint-me-like-one-of-your-French-girls pose.  
"What do you want, anyway?" you ask. You switch to a patronizing tone. "Are you here to tell on me?"  
"Far from it, Highness!" Bill laughs maniacally. "I'm here to make a deal." Even though you have no interest in actually making a deal with him, you're curious about what he wants.  
"What's the deal?"  
"I'm so glad you asked!" He grins. "You want that harp to get your memories, right?" You nod cautiously. "Well, you don't need that silly harp! If you put that harp down and promise never to touch it again, I will tell you about your past." You actually laugh.  
"Why would I trust anything out of your mouth?"  
"That is hurtful, especially considering I've been nothing but kind to you." Bill makes a pouty face. "You saw me in that first memory. I offered my help to you, and you had warm-fuzzy-not-just-friendly FEELINGS for me." He winks. You stiffen.  
"How on earth would you know that?" You glare at him. "Have you been eavesdropping?"  
"Well, of course I have! You're the most interesting person in this town!" Bill waves his hand dismissively, like your question was silly. "But I wouldn't have known about those feelings from mere eavesdropping." He smiles devilishly. Your heart starts beating harder. Could he have been reading your mind?  
"Bingo!" he yells. He pulls a party popper out of thin air and sets it off, filling your hair with confetti. "You know, for such a smart girl, you're kind of stupid." You bite your tongue to hold back a rude retort, but you'd imagine he hears it anyway since he can apparently read minds. He guffaws. "Yeah, I heard that. Such a dirty mind! Although, I already knew that, given some of your thoughts about Pine Tree..." Bill says that like it's supposed to be a joke, but his face shows his disgust. You display YOUR disgust for Bill in general by taking a swing at him. Your hand passes right through him, and your momentum brings you to the floor.  
"Ow," you mutter.  
"It's too bad I don't have a physical form, because I would LOVE to see what it feels like to bit hit by you." Bill smiles creepily, and you get a weird vibe. Does he like pain or something? Bill smiles even wider, giving you your answer.  
"Listen, Dorito, you can just get lost, because there's no way that I'm making a deal with you." You rub your arm where you fell on it.  
"Are you sure, Highness?" He raises an eyebrow. "I don't think Pine Tree will be too happy to find out that you went behind his back and did something dangerous..." You know that he's trying to emotionally manipulate you, but you won't let him succeed.  
"I think he'll be fine with it when he finds out you went to such great lengths to try to stop me from taking it." You stand up and pick up the harp. "Now if you could get out of here, I have a piece I'd like to perform." Bill stares at you for a moment, and you think you see something glinting in his eye...sadness, maybe? No. Probably malice or anger. Not sadness. There's no way a Dorito Demon would be sad over you. The only reason you're important to him is because he wants you as a pawn.  
"You're so, so wrong," he says quietly, before vanishing. You are left alone with the harp in your hand. You look out the door and down the stairs. You don't see anyone coming. With a heavy sigh, you shut and lock the door with yourself inside. If Bill doesn't want you to see these visions, it must mean that they're a threat to him. Dipper will understand that. Right?  
"No time like the present," you say, plucking a few strings. Sure enough, your fingers begin the same sad song, just like they did last time. You have just enough time to be glad that this party is loud enough to cover the music before you are swept away into memory.

You sit on a throne made of light. A muscular man dressed in magnificent robes bows before you.  
"Your Majesty," he says, his voice deep and resonant.  
"Speak." Your mouth forms words of its own accord. It must be because you are living a memory--you have no say over what happens.  
"Your Majesty," he repeats. "King Adrian has gone berserk. I understand that the two of you are very...close...but he is endangering the lives of your people. I beseech you, Majesty, please do something." He looks up at you pleadingly. Although you don't know anyone named Adrian, when he says that name, for some reason you see in your mind's eye the Bill Cipher from your last vision. What does that mean?  
"I am aware of the state of things, Bishop." Your voice seems cold. "I am handling the situation."  
"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but may I request permission to speak freely?"  
"Granted."  
"I do not see what you are doing, and the people don't, either." His voice lowers. "They think you've abandoned them, your Majesty."  
"I understand why some people would think that, Bishop, but have faith." The corners of your lips tug up weakly. "I am making great personal sacrifices to ensure that Adrian is taken care of." You feel an overwhelming sadness some upon you suddenly, but you do not collapse. You must have been truly strong, once. "Tell the people not to fear. This time of hardship is coming to an end." The Bishop bows so low that his face touches the floor, and then he leaves. Once his back is turned, you finally feel a tear slide down your cheek. You wipe it away as soon as you feel it, and you turn to the young man standing behind you. "Bring him in." The man bows and exits quickly. Moments later, a man dressed like a medieval King enters. But even this would-be King bows before you.  
"Your Majesty."  
"Please, stand up straight. After today you will bow no more." You wonder at your own words. Where and when are you? How is it possible for you to have ever been royalty? The man obliges, although he does not look comfortable doing so.  
"You wished to see me?" he asks. You nod.  
"I am abdicating the throne to you, Rowan." The man looks flabbergasted.  
"Why would you do a thing like that?" he asks. "You have ruled for millennium." If you were in control of your body, your jaw would drop. Surely he didn't say what you think he just said.  
"I am doing it out of necessity." You sigh heavily. "You see, this problem with King Adrian is my fault." You think Rowan's eyes are going to pop out of his skull. "I made the mistake of giving him the hope that I entertained...affections...for him. Because of my immortality, he knew that we could never be together as long as he was mortal. So he made a deal with a demon."  
WHAT? you scream internally. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? Rowan does not seem at all shocked by past you's statement of her own immortality.  
"He agreed to merge souls with a demon called Bill Cipher in exchange for immortality. But once they merged, Bill's soul began feeding off of Adrian's to gain power. On top of that, now he has a physical form, so he's free to wreak havoc on this world." You are stunned. How can this be? Is Bill the Dorito Demon really an ancient king named Adrian? Or are they one and the same now?  
"Your Majesty, I don't know what to say," says Rowan. Although he continues talking, so clearly he DOES know what to say. "What do you plan on doing about this?"  
"Well, first, I have to destroy his...physical form." You take that as a weak euphemism for "I have to kill him." Past you continues, "That will banish him to the Fourth Dimension of Time, the Mindscape...after that, I have to give up my immortality. Millennia from now, I will be reborn. I will leave my harp to the fairies so that one day I can remember what I became mortal for. And I will make a deal with Bill Cipher to save Adrian's life. It's the only way to save this world." You sense that the last sentence is a lie, but you don't know what the option is that you're omitting.  
"What will that deal be?" asks Rowan, but it might as well be you asking. You open your mouth to answer, but you can't catch what you say. You realize that you are waking up. The twins must have found you.

You open your eyes to see a confused Mabel, a worried Soos, and a very angry Dipper.  
"Dipper, give that back to me right now." You point to the harp in his hands. You have to know what deal you came here to make. There is no doubt in your mind now that these memories are real, as improbable as it might seem.  
"That's never going to happen." Tears glisten in Dipper's eyes, but you can't tell if they're angry tears or hurt tears.  
"Please, listen to me." Desperation creeps into your voice. "I can explain everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Whew, that was intense! So, you used to be an ancient deity? That's...something. The thing is, in order to see what you need to do, you're going to have to convince the twins (okay, convince Dipper) that what you saw was real and not a trick. Seriously though, this is why Dipper has trust issues. Even if this is exactly what he would've done, it might take some serious apologizing and kissing up (pun intended) to come back from this one. But the two of you will bounce back.  
> ...Right?  
> BTW, in case you missed it, the significance of the last two chapter titles is this: Dipper may be "your" old flame, but Bill/Adrian is an ANCIENT flame. ;)
> 
> On a side note, thank you guys so much for your kind comments. They always make my day. Sisterlilly, I will try to incorporate your idea in the upcoming chapters. Anyone else who has requests, please comment or message me! Also, let me know what you liked, what you didn't like, and what needs correcting. I love hearing your feedback! Anyway, I hate leaving you guys on a cliffhanger, so I'll try to update soon. Just don't expect any updates today. :)  
> If you have any art skills and you're interested in a contest, read the author's note on the next chapter. :)  
> Remember: reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!


	8. Ancient Flame Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I stg Adrian will get some character development eventually  
> And I know this all came out of left field but bear with me

"Please, listen to me," you say, desperation creeping into your voice. "I can explain everything."  
"Oh, yeah?" You can see the pain of betrayal in Dipper's eyes. "You can explain why you snuck into my room to do something I practically BEGGED you not to do, dug through my stuff, and locked yourself in here?"  
"I didn't dig through your stuff. It was in the first place I looked," you mumble.  
"That is LITERALLY the least upsetting thing you did, (y/n!" Dipper's knuckles are turning white from gripping the harp so tightly. "I hope that's not all you have to say for yourself."  
"It's not." You sigh. This is not going to be easy. "I was having trouble focusing, and I knew I wouldn't be able to get anything done until I knew what it was that the harp had to show me--"  
"You couldn't focus?" Mabel pipes up. "What do you need to focus on? You said you came here to have an adventure."  
Shoot. You didn't think about that.  
"I-I did, but--"  
"Have you been lying to us from the moment you got here?" Dipper looks even more hurt than he already was. Fantastic. You worked so hard when you first met the twins ago to get him to trust you despite his trust issues, and now you've undone all that hard work.  
"No! No, Dipper, I didn't lie to you guys. Please, just..." You begin to feel an intense pressure on your chest. There is too much going on right now. Crap. You know what's happening as your heart begins hammering and you begin to choke.  
You're having a panic attack.  
This is why you stick to yourself so much, and one of the reasons that you don't want to become famous. Whenever you get in an emotionally stressful situation, this happens. (Honestly, you were surprised when you didn't have a panic attack being attacked by centaurs.) Your body trembles. You keep a Valium in your laptop bag for emergencies like this, but as you reach for your bag, you realize that you left it in your room downstairs. You can't breathe, but you manage to wheeze out an instruction for the twins.  
"Get...bag...my...room..." you say, struggling for breath. You can vaguely see Mabel running out of the room. You feel arms pull you into an embrace.  
"I can't believe I forgot about this...I'm so sorry..." You hear Dipper's voice, but it sounds far away. After what feels like forever, Mabel reenters the room holding your laptop bag. Your hands shake so violently that you have trouble, but luckily you keep the Valium in the top outermost pocket, so it's not impossible for you to get. You fumble with it for a moment, but steadier hands take the medicine out of your hands, take out one tablet, and put it in your mouth. Although your throat feels closed off, you manage to swallow it. After taking the pill, all you can do is wait. You lay there on the bed, trembling and barely able to breathe, for what feels like forever. However, eventually your breathing comes a little easier, your body stops shaking, and the pain in your chest goes away. Now that you are awake to yourself again, you realize that you are laying down on the floor with your head in Dipper's head. His fingers are messing absently with your hair. Mabel sits across from you, on her phone with a worried look on her face. She's probably googling how long it takes for Valium to kick in. However, since you don't feel sleepy, you guess that your panic attack ended before the Valium began working. If you'd known that the Valium wouldn't even help you this time, you wouldn't have taken it--it's highly addictive, and it makes you slur like a drunk. You sit up.  
"(y/n)? Are you okay?" Dipper asks, a worried look on his face. You nod hesitantly.  
"I think so," you say.  
"Oh my gosh! (y/n)!" Mabel lurches forward and wraps you in a bear hug.  
"Uh-Mabel?" you choke. Dang, this girl has a tight grip. She releases suddenly, looking panicked.  
"OH! I'm so sorry! You're not feeling panicky again, right?" she asks. You roll your eyes. Honestly, she's acting like she's never seen you have a panic attack before. Although, it has been 6 years. She probably forgot.  
"No, Mabel." You smile, although it feels a little shaky to you. "It takes a LOT worse than a bear hug to set me off."  
"I'm so, so, sorry, (y/n)!" Dipper says. "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard, I just forgot about...well, you know..."  
"It's fine, Dipper," you say with a sigh. "Don't beat yourself up about it. I DO owe you guys some answers, but I'm not sure I can explain myself out loud."  
"What does that mean?" asks Mabel. In response, you reach for your computer bag. You pull out your laptop. (Thank God you put it away!)  
"I'm going to write you guys a story."

An hour later, you have written everything you needed to say. You've told them about the true reason you came to Gravity Falls, your encounter with Bill, and everything you saw in your vision. Well, almost everything. You leave off the part about the deal, and your former feelings for Bill.  
"This is crazy," says Mabel. "And that's coming from someone who used to fantasize about ice cream dogs."  
"I don't know how to respond to that," you say. "But yeah, I know this is crazy. That's why I have to see the harp. I need to understand what I became, um, mortal, for." You feel incredibly self-conscious. For some reason, talking about your former immortality makes you feel like you're being stuck up, even though that doesn't really make sense.  
"Well, before now I would say no way, not a chance," says Dipper, "but now I know that you're going to do this no matter what I say. So, go ahead. It's better if you do it while we're here, anyway." He holds the harp out to you bitterly.  
"Nice guilt trip, Dipper," you mutter, taking the harp. He purses his lips together. Mabel looks between the two of you, clearly uncomfortable.  
"Let's just get this out of the way! Right, guys?" Mabel tries to be enthusiastic. You know how uncomfortable she feels when other people are sad, so you feel kind of bad for her. You smile weakly.  
"Yeah, right, Mabel," you say. You begin strumming the harp, and this time you pluck the right strings from the first time your fingers touch them. You feel your eyes roll back into your head and you are sucked into memory.

Your world is black. You almost panic, but then you realize that your eyes are closed. That is the first of many realizations, the most jarring being that fact that, at this moment, you are being passionately kissed. As uncomfortable as you are with the idea of being kissed by someone you can't see and don't know, the feelings that past you is experiencing in this memory fill you up. Happiness--giddiness, even. Enjoyment. Love. And while you don't really enjoy being accosted by those unfamiliar feelings, you have to admit: whoever this guy is, he's a good kisser. You begin racking your mind for the people you know of in the past who could possibly have been your lover, and you realize that there's only one person it could really be.  
The man kissing you pulls back, and your eyes finally open to see Bill Cipher. No, not Bill, you correct yourself, Adrian. Whoever that is, or was. He's grinning like a fool.  
"What are you smiling like that for?" you ask.  
"You mean, apart form being with the most magnificent being in existence?" he asks, a mischievous smile on his face. You blush internally, and you can tell from the burning of your face that past you felt the same. "I have good news."  
"What is it?" you ask.  
"I've found a way that we can be together."  
You feel shock flood you, but you recognize the emotion as belonging to the past you. Present you knows what way he found, and it isn't good.  
"Do tell," you say happily. You wonder how long your happiness will continue after he tells you.  
"I made a deal with a spirit called Bill Cipher."  
You feel an icy dread fill your heart.  
"Please tell me you're joking."  
"Of course not!" Adrian says, laughing like he's confused. Which he probably is. "He made me immortal!"  
You groan. "Something like that couldn't have come without a price."  
"Well..." he clears his throat. "He asked for a favor. I'm supposed to meet him tonight."  
"Don't go!" Urgency fills your voice. "He'll just go back on his end of the deal. It's not worth it."  
"Don't be silly!" He laughs. "Whatever he, wants, it will be worth it."  
You expect yourself to say something, but you remain silent.  
"Actually, I should probably get going now." He leans forward and kisses you softly. The touch is gentle, but it feels like a knife in your heart as you realize that this is probably the last decent moment the two of you shared. As he walks away, you try to scream a warning. But you know it's futile. After all, this is only a memory. All of this happened already. As he walks away, you feel yourself fading away. You know you're waking up, but it feels different this time. It must be because you remained in this memory for the entirety of it. Waking up this time feels less like getting icy water thrown on your face and more like stepping out of a warm bathtub. You open your eyes and see the twins chatting. The last few notes you plucked still hang in the air.  
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Dipper asks.   
"Um—uh, no." You feel your face burn. What are you going to tell them you saw? "I didn't return to the same memory. I saw a different one."  
"Well, what did you see?" asks Mabel.   
"I didn't get any new information," you say, avoiding her question.   
"What DID you see?" asks Dipper. Clearly, your lack of forthrightness is making him even more curious. Go figure.   
"I, um, talked with Bill. Well, Adrian. He said that he found a way to become immortal." You sigh. "I couldn't tell him not to, because it was a memory."  
"Well, that WOULD make sense," Dipper says callously. Mabel elbows him.   
"I'm sorry, (y/n)." She smiles sadly. "I'm sure you'll find answers soon." You sigh heavily. Your eyes begin to burn. Wait, are you about to cry? That's stupid. I mean, you might have loved Bill, um Adrian, once, but that was a LONG time ago. Why do you feel this way?  
"Are you going to try again?" asks Dipper. His tone is emotionless and flat.   
"Eventually," you say with a sigh. "For now, I think—I think I've see enough."  
"Are you lying to me?" Dipper stares at me blankly. "Because of you plan on playing that thing again and getting more answers, I'd rather you do it while we're here with you."  
"I'm not lying," you say somewhat defensively, although, you have to admit, he does kind of have reason to be suspicious of you. "I'm not ready to see any new 'memories' just yet." He looks at you as if trying to judge the truthfulness of what you're saying. After a moment, he nods.   
"I'm going downstairs," he says, looking at Mabel. "Don't stay up here too long." He looks at you for only a second before shaking his head and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.  
"He's really mad at me, isn't he?" you whisper. Despite your best efforts to keep your eyes dry, a few tears escape. Mabel puts an arm around you soothingly and brings you in for a side hug.   
"He's not MAD, (y/n)," she says. "that just really scared him. You got up to take a call, and then you disappeared. By the time we found you up here, well...we heard you singing through the door, but your voice sounded weird. I asked Dipper what you were saying, since the words sounded kind of like Latin, and he just shook his head. His face was so pale, (y/n)." She sighs. "He tried to break the door down while I went and got Soos to pick the lock. When I came back up, his knuckles were bloody from punching the door." You feel sick. How did you not notice that?  
"What about what you just told me would make me think that he ISN'T mad at me?" you ask. A few more tears make a break for it.   
"He's not mad, he's just scared." She pauses. "Our entire family—heck, this entire town—was almost destroyed by Bill. And now it seems like you're in danger, too. After Bill leaving us alone for so long, he finally felt almost safe again."  
"And now I've put his family in jeopardy again," you realize. Mabel nods.   
"Well, it's not really like THAT. I mean, he doesn't blame you. He's just worried that he'll lose us, and now, you." She smiles comfortingly. "But I think he should be fine pretty soon when he realizes that he would have done the exact same thing that you did."  
"You think so?" You sniff.   
"I do. And this whole thing with Bill will be fine." She smiles brightly. "We've beat with this Dorito before, and we'll do it again!" You laugh.   
"Thanks, Mabel." You give her a big hug. "Now, go downstairs and enjoy your bonfire. I'll be down soon."  
"Are you sure?" She raises her eyebrows. You smile.   
"Of course! I'll be right behind you."  
"Thanks!" Mabel hugs you one more time before bolting down the stairs. You decide to let yourself calm down a bit more before you go downstairs. As you look out the window, you notice for the first time that the window bears a symbol that looks remarkably like a certain Dream Demon you know. You sigh.   
"I just can't get away from you, can I, Bill?"   
The only response you receive is the feeling of a breeze passing over the back of your neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So. Much. Drama. You've barely even been in Gravity Falls two days, and you're already in the thick of it! So, are "you" going to leave the harp alone for a while and try to make up with Dipper? Or are "you" going to try to learn more about Bill? I think "you" might have a couple of adventures in store in the next few weeks!  
> A big thank you to everyone who's already participated in my survey! It's neck-and-neck so far, with a sequel and a new GF Reader insert in the lead. If you haven't voted already, please do so here: What should my next project be?  
> Stay tuned for Ancient Flame: Part 3!  
>  Remember: reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!


	9. Ancient Flame Pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna post all these parts at once so no one gives up on the story lmao

After taking a few minutes to calm down, you head downstairs. The bonfire is still going strong, although it seems like Mabel finally ran out of things to burn. You look around the fire. Most people are laughing and enjoying roasted marshmallows, but you notice one person who's just staring at the fire with a sad look on his face. You sigh.   
"Here goes nothing," you mumble to yourself. You walk up to him from behind and take a seat beside him. He jumps a bit and looks at you.   
"Hey, stranger," you say, trying to be lighthearted. He smiles feebly.   
"Howdy." He looks back at the fire. Neither of you say anything. Frustration builds up inside of you—there is so much you want to say, so much you COULD say, and yet you can think of nothing. After a few awkward moments, you decide that an apology is probably a good place to start.   
"I'm sorry," you blurt. Dipper looks up at you from the fire and opens his mouth to say something, but you cut him off. "Look, I know that you told me not to play the harp again, and I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you. I just needed answers, you know?" You continue to ramble, ignoring Dipper, who keeps trying to talk. "And I'm sorry if you felt lied to because I didn't tell you about my writing, but not even my parents know, and even if I were going to spill that secret to someone, I wouldn't have wanted to tell you because I kind of based the main character off of you. And I understand that you feel betrayed but I hate fighting with you, and could you please forgive me?" You finally stop for a breath. You look at Dipper expectantly. After a brief pause, he does the last thing you'd expect.   
He laughs.   
"I'm not mad at you," he says, putting an arm over your shoulder.   
"You-you're not?"  
"It would actually be EASIER if I could just be mad at you." Dipper sighs. "But, the thing is, I would have done the exact same thing. When I first came here and found the journals, I was so desperate for information on the author of the journals that I made a deal with Bill."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. That's why I don't want you to mess with that guy. He almost destroyed my family. I don't want to lose you." As he says that last sentence, he weaves his fingers through yours. "I'm NOT mad at you. I was just scared. That's all." You let out a sigh of relief and bury your head in his chest.   
"Thank God!" You breathe in his scent—like smoke and pine. "I don't know what I'd do if you were mad at me." Dipper holds you a little closer and you finally feel almost peaceful for the first time since you found the stupid harp. Barely audible in the noise of the party, you hear a click. You open one eye and see Mabel holding a camera in your face.   
"Mabel!" You jerk back from Dipper, your face hot.   
"Scrapbook-ertunity!" She squeals.  
"Mabel, you'd better delete that photo," warns Dipper. It could just be the lighting, but his face looks fiery red. You giggle as Mabel runs away, presumably to upload the picture to her computer.   
"So." Dipper clears his throat. "You based your series off of me?"  
"Shut up." You blush.   
"You know, I always thought there was something I liked about that main character." He rubs his chin as though deep in thought.   
"Yeah, yeah. I never should've told you. Your head has swollen to ten times its normal size." You poke Dipper between the ribs.   
"Having actually had my head grown to ten times its normal size, I can assure you that that is not currently the case."  
"Dude, you're crazy." You lean into him. You stay there for a moment, and a thought occurs to you.   
"I miss this," you admit. You glance up at Dipper to see what he will say in response. You're not sure what the appropriate response would be to being told by your ex that they miss being with you. There's a pause, and Dipper looks back at the fire pit. Oh no. You shouldn't have said that. You misread the signals, you took things the wrong way—but, why isn't he pushing you away?   
"Come with me." Dipper stands up and takes your hand. He leads you away from the bonfire, into the Mystery Shack, up a ladder, onto the roof. You sit down on the tiles and look up at the stars.   
"What did you want me to come here for?"  
In response, Dipper leans in and presses his lips against yours. You squeak quietly in surprise, but you recover fairly quickly. You deepen the kiss, wrapping your arm around him and pulling him closer. God, you've missed this. You've missed him. His hand wraps around your waist and pulls you close to him. His chapped lips grate against yours, but moisture quickly softens his lips. Your chest is pressed against his, and you can feel his heart pounding. Your own heart beats a similar rhythm. You turn your head, investing yourself into the kiss. As his lips work their magic, you notice how sweet He tastes. You furrow your eyebrows as you kiss him deeper, trying to figure out what that taste is. OH! It's marshmallows! Yum. His excited hands play with your hair and run down your back, sending shivers down your spine, before one of them settles on the back of your head, holding you close to him, and the other wraps around your waist. You kiss each other with a passion that you have never kissed each other with before—and it's GREAT. You never want to stop. You continue to savor him until your lungs feel that they might burst. You finally pull back for a breath, and as you gasp, your lips centimeters away from his, you can't help but laugh.   
"Am I really that out of practice?" Dipper laughs nervously. His hand still holds your face close to his.   
"Oh, gosh, no. It's just funny." You lay your head in the space where his shoulder meets his neck. "Ten minutes ago, I thought you hated me."  
"Ha ha. Yeah, It's probably safe to say I don't hate you." He leans back a bit so that you are face to face again. He looks into your eyes. "Please, could you just promise me something?" You brace yourself for a lecture.   
"That depends what it is." You try to sound playful, but you think it might sound a bit more apprehensive.   
"Stay safe." His lips are maybe millimeters away from yours. "I know that you're your own person, and I'm not going to try to control you, but I don't think I could lose you. I've really missed you ever since we moved here." You think about responding, but his lips beckon you, and so you decide that kissing him will probably be answer enough. So, that's what you do. You grab him by the collar of his shirt and pull him the remainder of the distance to you. You run your fingers through his hair as you lose yourself in his touch. Hopefully Mabel doesn't come looking for you. The stars shine overhead, and all is right. 

You open your eyes to a colorless world. You don't remember falling asleep. Did you and Dipper kiss until you passed out? You don't see him anywhere. Suddenly, you remember the significance of the black-and-white world you find yourself in.   
"BILL!" you scream. He appears in front of you, in triangle form.   
"Whoa, it's been a long time since I had you screaming my name." He laughs demonically as your face burns bright red. You clench your fists.   
"What do you want, Bill?" you growl through clenched teeth. "This isn't a good time."  
"Oh, yeah. I know. You were having some 'bonding time' with Pine Tree." His voice sounds...angry? Jealous? It's hard to read his expressions when he's in this form. Which is probably why he chose to don it this time. You groan at the reminder of his constant watching of your life. Can't you have a private moment without this stupid demon spying on you? In response, Bill laughs. He shifts form, so that he looks like...you?  
"Oh, I've never been kissed like that before!" he says in a terrible imitation of your voice. He switches back to his normal form and voice. "What, do you have a bad short-term memory or something? You literally JUST remembered a certain...kiss? Am I wrong?" Your face burns.   
"I didn't tell this twins about that." You groan. "Have you been reading my mind again?"  
"Well, duh!" His eye crinkles as if he were smiling. "Do you really think I'm a good kisser, your Highness?"  
"You're a jerk."  
"That's a yes, then." He switches to his normal human form—Adrian.   
"What happened to him?" you blurt.  
"Who, Adrian?" He cackles. "Oh, he's in here...somewhere."  
"What did you do to him?" Where did this fierce protectiveness come from?  
"Relax. He's fine." He strokes his chin. "Well, as fine as he can be, considering that I've been feeding off of his soul for thousands of years."  
Your hands tremble at your sides. What you wouldn't give to punch him in his smug little face...but, remembering the last time you tried to hit him, you restrain yourself. If the plan past you came up with is a good one, you will eventually be defeating this demon.   
"I've managed to keep myself from completely devouring his soul all this time, but I think it might be time to get a new host. This one's been tasting kind of...stale, lately..." He looks at you. "Do you have any idea who I might pick?" Your mouth drops open. This not-so-subtle threat is clearly directed at Dipper.   
"You leave Dipper alone," you growl. He laughs maniacally.   
"Do you really want that?" Bill cocks his head at you. "If I take his soul, I can put Adrian's in Dipper's body. Then you can have your REAL love back, the one you gave up your immortality for, and you can still look at your new boy-toy."  
"You sick—"  
"Language!" Bill wags his finger at you.  
"You sick monster." You tremble with anger. "I don't care how much I loved Adrian once upon a time, I would NEVER sacrifice Dipper. And you're crazy to think I would even consider it."  
"Hm." He blinks. "You've changed. The old you would've shook hands with me on that one without a second thought."  
You begin to feel sick. That can't be true, right? You weren't a monster who would manipulate people into being your pawns. There's just no way. Bill must be trying to get into your head and make you doubt yourself. And yet...you feel so hollow inside.   
"Anyway. I see that you're not going to consider his deal, but I know that we'll be making one very, very soon." Bill tips his hat, and you don't have time to grab onto something before the world tilts on its axis and you go sliding over the edge of the roof. "In the meantime, I'll be watching you!" comes his voice from back on the roof. The world goes back to its normal orientation and instead of falling parallel to the ground, the ground is now rushing up at you. A scream tears from your throat, and at the instant you are about to hit he ground your eyes fly open to a world in full color. You bolt upright. Luckily, your throat doesn't feel raw, so the scream from your dream probably didn't make an appearance in real life. You wonder how long you've been out, and if the bonfire's still going. Man, you've passed out so many times lately. It's kind of getting old. You look around. You are in your own room, not on the roof, not dead on the ground. You are safe. Or, as safe as you can be in this crazy town. You start to get out of bed to go tell the twins about your dream, but you stop. What will you tell them? When you listen closely, you can still hear music. Do you really want to interrupt their party—AGAIN—to tell them about this? How would you explain it? Too much of what was said references the love former you held for a man named Adrian. You didn't tell the twins about that, and in light of what just happened with Dipper...well, it just doesn't seem like it would be very courteous of you to bring Adrian up just yet. That can wait. Ideally, it can wait forever. You don't want to go back to the party—your Valium is kicking in (12 flipping years later!!!) and it's making you seriously drowsy. You haven't met a lot of these people before, and, frankly, the last thing you need them to think of you is that you're a drunk or something. You lay back down in your bed. You think that sleep will elude you, given the traumatic event of the day and the amount of "bonus" sleep you've gotten, but with the help of your Valium, you are soon deep in a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! I know this is kind of a short chapter, but I tried to pack a lot in here to make up for the short size. I hope you like it! Also, only 49 of you have taken my survey. What's up with that? Don't you want to have a say in what project I do next? Go do that thing. Like, now. ;)  
> What should my next project be?  
> Okay, so I thought of shipping names for the different Reader pairings in this fic. Comment which one you're rooting for and why!  
> Billder (Bill x Reader)  
> Readip (Reader x Dipper)  
> Thank you guys so much for reading this fic! I love you guys. As always, please comment with suggestions, corrections, and requests. These chapters have been a little heavy, so I'm planning on having a few fluffy chapters next that I plan on filling with reader requests! :) Also, my Valentines plans currently are me working and my boss getting us dinner. So. If y'all have any requests. Please. Send them in.   
> Remember: reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!


	10. The Bet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can definitely trust this fluff  
> Yep  
> Nothing bad on the way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry that this took so long. I know I promised it to you a lot sooner. I've been really busy. Despite my best efforts, I seem to have grown a "life". The doctors don't know if it's cancerous. I guess only time will tell. But in the meantime, Here's the update you all have waited so patiently for. I'll try to not wait so long to update next time.

"(y/n)..." says an energetic voice. "(y/n)! It's time to get up!"  
You groan. "Mabel?" you croak. "What time is it?"  
"It's almost noon."  
"Whoa, really?" You sit up, rubbing your eyes. You didn't have ANY nightmares last night!  
"Yeah, you slept for, like, twelve hours!" Mabel lays across your bed in a woe-is-me way.  
"What are you in such a hurry for?" you ask with a laugh.   
"We want to go to the arcade!" Mabel sits up eagerly. "After the last few days, pretty much everything you've seen has been crazy dangerous, which is fun in a way, but we thought maybe you'd like something a little more low-key. Dipper had the idea to take you to the arcade!"  
You blush at the mention of Dipper's name. After last night, where do you stand? You don't remember going to bed, you were just kissing Dipper, and then you were talking to Bill...  
Oh, sweet Lord.  
Did you pass out in the middle of a make out session?  
"We thought that the arcade would be MUCH less dangerous than the going to the forest or something," Mabel continues. You furrow your brow.   
"Wait. Didn't Dipper almost get killed once by Rumble McSkirmish from that game Fight Fighters?" You remember being told that story during high school.  
Mabel's smile falters briefly. "That guy hasn't bothered us since the apocalypse! We'll just—" She clears her throat. "—stick away from Fight Fighters."  
"Sounds like a plan." Halfway through the word "plan", you yawn. "Man. I should have never slept in so late."  
"Hey, you've had a long couple of days. You earned a rest." Mabel stands up. "Now, hurry up and get ready! We'll be downstairs!" And with that, she sprints out of your room. Dang, that girl has a lot of energy. You get out of bed, change into some jean shorts and a Star Wars crop top, pull on your favorite chucks, and head downstairs. Mabel and Dipper are sitting on the couch.  
"Hey there, sleeping beauty!" Dipper yells to you as you descend down the last few steps. "Did you get bored last night or something?" He says it nonchalantly, but you can see the muscles in his jaw tense, waiting for your response.  
"Are you kidding? Last night was the most fun I've had in a long time!" you say in a flirty way. Dipper blushes, and you see some of the tension leave his face. A small smile begins to form on his beautiful lips. "I just..." Should you tell him about the dream? "Yesterday took a lot out of me. I was more tired than I thought." You're a coward. You know that. But honestly, what good would it do him to know? None. It's better this way. Or, at least, that's what you tell yourself. You head over to the kitchen. "Should I grab some breakfast before we go?"  
Mabel laughs. "You mean lunch? Naw, we'll stop by Greasy's on the way to the arcade."  
"Alright." You walk towards the door. "Does Stan need me to work today, or...?"  
"We talked to him. He agreed to give you the day off," Dipper says. He and Mabel meet you at the door.   
"Again?" You laugh self-consciously. "Wow, I'm doing a horrible job earning my keep." Mabel opens the door and walks ahead of you. Dipper weaves his fingers through yours, making you blush from your collarbone to your forehead.   
"I don't know." He leans in toward you, a knowing smile playing across his lips. "I think you're doing a pretty fine job." Your blush probably turns from pink to scarlet. This is FAR from the most physical you and Dipper have been, but this is in PUBLIC. (Well, you held hands in the woods the other day, but that was different. Dipper had a "reason" then.) His sister could turn around at any second and see you two, and probably take a picture. While you certainly weren't opposed to the idea of a little PDA, when you were dating, your relationship was a secret. The kind of secret that would be sealed in a military bunker with the word CLASSIFIED stamped on it, with information on it kept on a strictly need-to-know basis, with the only ones who needed to know being you and Dipper. THAT was the kind of relationship you assumed you were rekindling last night when you made out with him on the roof. (Although, in all honesty, you weren't doing a whole lot of thinking in that moment.) But this public-hand-holding thing? This is new. This is different. This is terrifying. This is...nice. You smile subtly. If openness was the thing missing from your relationship formula last time, maybe going public with your relationship could be the missing ingredient to make you and Dipper work in a way that extends beyond mere chemistry.   
You have this entire inner monologue in maybe half a second, and then you reply, "Thanks." Dipper squeezes your hand and pulls you ahead to catch up with Mabel. Your heart drums a lively beat, but you tell it to settle down. For the love of God, all he did was hold your hand. It's not like he knelt in front of you and proposed using a sonnet he wrote himself, with a choir singing in the background and doves flying overhead to adorn you with flowers. Perspective, (y/n).  
"Do you...um, do you want to pick up where we left off sometime?" Dipper looks at you, his face red. You giggle nervously.  
"That sounds great." You smile, looking up at him for a moment, but for some reason you can't look at him for very long. Seeing the way he looks at you makes you kind of...nervous? You're not sure. There's a weird humming beginning somewhere just south of your stomach, and it resonates like a tuning fork. It feels kind of nice? (You guess?) But mostly it just makes you feel a little nervous. You have a feeling you know what the feeling is, but you're not sure you're ready to go down that road yet. Seriously, you haven't seen this guy in six years. There's no way you'd know everything you've missed about who he is now in three days.   
You, Dipper and Mabel walk into town, since the weather's nice and it's not too much of a trek into town. Casual observation: Dipper doesn't let go of your hand, even though the heat is making your hands sweaty and it would probably be more comfortable is he did let go. Just a casual observation. No big deal. There's no need for you to hyperventilate, or have a panic attack...yeesh, you need to get out more if holding hands with a guy has you in such a state! You enter the diner.  
"Well, hey, kids!" says a woman with a slow drawl.  
"Hey, Lazy Susan!" Mabel says with a cheerful wave.  
"You kids can go ahead and have a seat. I'll take your order in a second."  
The twins lead you over to a bench by the window. Dipper sits beside you (of course) and Mabel sits across from you. She looks between you and Dipper with the beginning of a knowing smile, but she doesn't say anything about it.   
"So," she begins. "This place is awesome. Personally, I'd recommend their coffee pancakes. There's a secret ingredient that makes them amazing!"  
"Is it coffee?" you say jokingly. There's no way the secret ingredient would be in the name of the food.   
"How did you know?" Mabel gasps. You roll your eyes.   
"I'm psychic." You wiggle your fingers in a mock-mystical way. Lazy Susan (what a strange name) comes over and takes your order. You all order the same thing: coffee pancakes with bacon and eggs. You chat for a while while you wait for your food. After about ten minutes, she brings out your plates—there aren't too many people here today, so it's not a long wait.   
"Here ya go, kids." Lazy Susan smiles at you and walks away.   
"Why is her eye like that?" you whisper once she's out of earshot. One of her eyes seems to be shut permanently.  
"Oh, when Grunkle Stan first opened the Mystery Shack, he accidentally zapped her with this machine and it killed the muscles in her eyelid," Dipper explains.   
"Yikes. Is she mad about it?"  
"No." Mabel grins. "She kind of has a THING for him, if you catch my drift." She winks. You roll your eyes a bit. Really subtle, Mabel.   
"Yes, I catch your drift. Did they ever, like..." You make awkward hand gestures for a moment, trying to express what you're failing to verbalize.   
"Go out?" guesses Dipper.  
"Yes!"  
"Once. It didn't go well. He ran out, just yelling, 'NONSPECIFIC EXCUSE!'"  
"Yikes. That's rough."  
"Yeah."  
You eat in silence for a while. Your food is really good! It's not nearly as greasy as you expected it to be. Suddenly, Mabel's eyes light up like she has an idea.   
"I HAVE AN IDEA!" she exclaims. You called it. "What do you guys say we make things interesting?"  
"Well, I don't know." You deadpan. "I, for one, am thoroughly enthralled in these pancakes. Breakfast could literally not get more interesting." Dipper snickers.   
"Oh, ha ha, (y/n)." Mabel rolls her eyes. "Not breakfast, silly. The game marathon we're about to have."  
"Oh?" Dipper raises an eyebrow. You feel your interest piqued.  
"'Make things interesting' sounds like an invitation for a bet." You use air quotes around "make things interesting".  
"It is!" Mabel grins. "So, we should all play that game 'Galaxy Defenders', and the person who gets the highest score gets to opt out of their dare."  
"What's the dare?" asks Dipper. You can tell that he's been tricked into things by his sister before.   
"It's different for each of us." Mabel thinks. "(y/n), do you still abhor romance novels?"  
"...yes?" You are hesitant.   
"Great. So, you will have to do a dramatic reading of one of my romance novels."  
"What?"  
"On tape." Her voice becomes deep and dramatic.   
"Oh, gosh." You facepalm.  
"Dipper, you'll do the Lamby Lamby dance. Also on tape."  
"But, I can't do it without a lamb costume!"  
Mabel pulls out her backpack. At the bottom there is...an adult-size lamb costume?  
"Well." Dipper fingers the fabric. "There it is."  
"Okay, but what will you have to do, Mabel?"  
"Oh, I've got this." Dipper grins. "She'll have to go on a date with Schmebulock."  
"What the heck? Is that a name?" You look at Mabel. She's cringing.  
"He's this weird gnome. All he can say is 'Schmebulock'." Mabel purses her lips together.   
"That sounds perfect." You grin evilly. "I can't wait to see you two humiliate yourselves!"

After eating your breakfast, the three of you head over to the arcade. You immediately spot Galaxy Defenders (A/N: Galaxy Defenders is Galaga) in the corner.  
"Come on, guys!" you say, grinning. "I'm about to show you how it's done." You make a show of cracking your knuckles, and Dipper rolls his eyes at you.  
"We'll see who's showing who," he says leaning close to you with a cocked eyebrow for a moment before swaggering over to the arcade machine. You set your jaw in determination and follow him. There is no way you're losing this bet--you are NOT going to read one of Mabel's romance novels. The books she read in high school were racy enough...you can only imagine what kind of stuff she reads now. The three of you crowd around the machine.  
"I think Dipper should start," Mabel declares.  
"Why?" you ask.  
"So that we have some time to warm up our fingers! Duh!" Mabel grins. You roll your eyes, but smile. You wiggle your thumbs.  
"Okay, Mabel," you say in a funny voice. She giggles.  
"Could you guys cut the chatter?" Dipper says. "I'm starting now."  
You and Mabel stop talking. Dipper hits the START button and you watch as wave after wave of aliens descend upon Dipper's little spaceship. He bites his lip and squints in concentration. (He looks kind of cute when he's concentrating.) He survives eight rounds, but he slips up near the end of the ninth and his last ship is destroyed. He groans.  
"Looks like someone's going to be doing the Lamby-Lamby Dance!" Mabel pokes Dipper's nose. He rubs his nose.  
"Not necessarily..."  
"Yes necessarily! There are, like two hundred and fifty-five levels in Galaxy Defenders, bro! You didn't even make it to the hard ones."  
"I tense up when I'm nervous."  
"Why on earth are you nervous?" Mabel snorts.  
"I just...you know..." Dipper coughs.  
Mabel glances at you and smiles mischievously. "Oh, I get it."  
Dipper frowns. "You get what?"  
Mabel pats him on the back. "Shh. It's okay."  
Dipper gives her a funny look. "Okay, I don't know what's up with you, but (y/n), I think you should go next." He steps out of the way of the machine. You make a show of popping your knuckles.  
"Let's do this." You smirk as the game starts up. You make it through level after level with ease. You notice, however, that the further you progress, the more Dipper's face falls. It must be pretty discouraging being schooled at a game you play regularly by someone who hasn't played in years. You sigh heavily as you realize what you have to do.  
I hope that dork appreciates the crap I do for him, you think as you fly into an alien ship, spending your last life.  
"Thirty levels. Not bad." Mabel smirks. "But I can do better." You move out of the way of the machine and stand next to Dipper. He leans over so his mouth is next to your ear.  
"Did you do that on purpose?" he whispers.  
"I have no idea what you're talking about," you say in a voice that makes it clear that you do know what he's talking about. You hear Dipper chuckle softly beside you, and feel his arm snake around your waist, coming to rest low on your hip. Your cheeks burn like you were out in the sun too long.  
"You know, you didn't have to do that. I'm a big boy."  
You turn your head to face him. He's a bit closer to you than you expected, making you blush even deeper. "I know," you say with a smile. A small grin grows on his face. He has the cutest smile. You feel your smile grow and find yourself leaning in closer, but you come to your senses and force yourself to watch Mabel play the game. However, you can still feel Dipper looking at you. Oh, gosh. What are you going to do with this boy?  
Mabel blasts through each level with a skill that you didn't expect. Soon enough, she's on level 29. Level 30. Level 31. You groan.  
"Oh, no." You hang your head. "Mabel won the bet."  
Mabel grins wickedly. "I keep telling you guys, nothing is stronger than the power of Mabel."  
You roll your eyes. "Well, you've already won now. You might as well quit so we can get our stupid dares out of the way."  
Mabel grinned and abandoned the machine. "I'm fine with that! This is gonna be fun."

"Is the camera ready?" Dipper says from where he's hiding behind the couch.  
"Yep! Come on out now, little Dipper!" Mabel cackles.  
"You're enjoying this too much," you mumble.  
"I know."  
Dipper stepped out from behind the couch wearing the cutest lamb costume you'd ever seen. (It was also the only lamb costume you'd ever seen on an adult.) His arms were crossed defensively, and his face was redder than a tomato.  
"Aww!" you practically squeal. "Dipper, you're adorable!" You hear him grumble something and his face turns even redder.  
"Alright, and...ACTION!" Mabel begins recording. Dipper takes a deep breath and starts into a dance routine.  
"Weeeeeeeeeeell who wants a Lamby Lamby Lamby? I do! I do! So go up and greet your mammy mammy mammy. Hi there! Hi there! So march march march around the daisies, but don't don't don't you forget about the ba-by!" He finishes kneeled awkwardly on the floor, poking his own cheek with one hand and waving his other hand in the air. You can't control yourself any more. You erupt into laughter.  
"Oh my gosh, Dipper...that was....that was..." You crack up again.  
Dipper puts on a forced smile that looks more like a line. "Yes. Ha, ha. Dipper's in a lamb costume. Very funny. Laugh while you can, (y/n). You haven't seen the book that Mabel picked out for you to read."  
You stop laughing immediately. "Mabel? What book did you pick?"  
Mabel grins evilly. "Oh...let's just say that this is going to be Fifty Shades of Hilarious."  
You feel the blood drain from your face. "Please tell me you're kidding."  
Mabel shakes her head.   
"That's not a romance novel, that's a domestic abuse novel! He literally ignores safe-words and consent."  
Mabel laughs. "Have you read it?"  
"Of course not. Its reputation precedes it."  
"Well, that's too bad. We're going upstairs and recording this."

"Okay. Here goes." You clear your throat. "'His arms are wrapped around me, and he’s pulling me to him, hard, fast, gripping my ponytail to tilt my head up, kissing me like his life depends on it … He drags the hair tie painfully out of my hair, but I don’t care. He needs me...' Please don't make me do this. This is just terrible."  
"Keep reading!" Mabel protests. Dipper is covering his face, but you can see red tinging his cheeks.  
You sigh and continue reading. Mabel had mercy and decided to only make you read an excerpt from the book, but you still doubt you'll be able to sleep tonight. You continue reading, your face getting progressively hotter as you go. After what feels like an eternity, you finish reading what Mabel highlighted for you.  
"Ugh. I have to go wash my mouth out with soap." You grimace.  
Mabel snickers. "You're dismissed." Dipper looks slightly traumatized.  
"Hey, Dipper? You okay?" You smile comfortingly.  
"Not really." His voice cracks, making him blush. "I...um, I think I just got an education."  
"Oh, I hope you don't use that awful thing as a guidebook!" You laugh.  
"That's not what I meant at all." Dipper laughs. "You know what I meant."  
"Yeah, I do." You smile at him awkwardly. Suddenly, you notice how dark it's grown outside. Dipper follows your gaze to the window and sees the moon hanging in the sky.  
"Oh, we should probably head to bed, huh?"  
"Yeah, probably. How did time go so quickly?"  
"Good company?" Dipper smiles. Since Mabel isn't in the room, you kiss him on the cheek.  
"Yeah." A grin starts to form on your face. "Very good company." Dipper smiles sheepishly and climbs into bed. After getting changed, you follow suit. In spite of the horrible things you just read, sleep comes to you quickly. As you lose your grip on reality and enter the last of dreams, you hear a familiar voice cackle in your ear.  
"Whoo! Man, I love that book! I think you're going to have some interesting dreams tonight, Highness!"  
You barely manage a groan before you're completely out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, there will NOT be any NSFW stuff in the next chapter. Well, not explicitly. I may state that you had some kinky dreams, but there will be no lemon in the next chapter.


	11. Gettysburg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed your fluff because it's only getting worse from here on out

"(y/n)!"  
You groan. Your eyes open slowly to see Mabel shaking you.  
"What is it, Mabel? Why did you wake me up?" You didn't sleep well last night, AT ALL. True to his word, Bill made sure that your dreams were...interesting.   
"You kept screaming Bill's name. It sounded like he was torturing you."  
At this, your face heats up. "Yeah. Well. He kind of was."  
Mabel furrowed her eyebrows. "That jerk. What did he do to you?"  
"I, uh, don't really want to talk about it."   
"Oh. I understand. Whatever he did to you, I hope you can forget it quickly." Mabel smiles reassuringly before leaving your room. You rub your eyes groggily.   
"Yeah, I hope so too." You stand up and get dressed and ready. Last night was AWFUL. You have to get of this stupid demon, stat. You know that the harp has answers, but you don't want to see some random makeout session again (or worse).  
"There has to be a better way," you say aloud. Suddenly, you remember the fairies that gave you the harp to begin with. You don't like the idea of returning to them after they attacked you and the twins, but maybe they'll be a little more friendly when they find out that you're playing the harp like they wanted. You chuckle to yourself. "Oh, Dipper's gonna love this."

"I hate this!"  
"Come on, Dipper. The only reason they attacked us last time was because you weren't letting me play the harp. And besides, I was the one who gave them the harp to begin with. They were probably just following my orders."  
Dipper gives you a pained look. "Why do you have to do that?"  
You frown. "Do what?"  
"Talk about the you from your memories like she's the same person you are now."  
"...Because we are the same person?"  
"No, you're not. That other you lived an entirely different life with completely different experiences, and relationships..."  
You catch on to what he's saying. You sigh softly and put a hand on his. "Dipper...I know you want to protect me and you don't want me to remember my...friendship with the man who became Bill, but I'm a big girl. I can handle this. Plus, if I don't figure out how to defeat Bill, I don't think anyone will."  
There is a pause as he seems to consider this. After a moment, he sighs. "Fine. I understand."  
You smile reassuringly and plant a soft kiss on his lips. "I'll see you soon."  
"What do you mean? I'm coming with you, aren't I?"  
"I don't think the pixies would take kindly to seeing you again."  
"Fair point." Dipper bites his lip nervously. "Just be careful, okay?"  
"Of course." You smile brightly at him and go to the door. Before exiting, you turn around. "Don't tell Mabel I'm with the fairies. I don't think she would like me to be near them, either." Dipper nods and you leave.  
The walk to the fairies' grotto is fairly peaceful. A thin fog still hangs in the early morning air, moistening your skin. Other than a few birds, you see no signs of wildlife. Something about the quiet stillness makes you feel calm. By the time you reach the grotto, your spirit is completely at ease. Or, it is, until you see that the grotto is completely devoid of the floating lights of fairies. You pull out the harp, pushing aside your worry.  
"I'm back," you say to the empty grotto. There is no response. You clear your throat and raise your voice a bit. "I have a few questions about the harp." You are answered by a deafening silence. After a few moments, you turn around to leave. Suddenly, you hear a faint tinkling sound. You spin quickly to face it.   
"Hello?" you call out. "Is anyone there?" You sweep your vision over the grotto and notice something you didn't before. Half-hidden by a large clump of grass is a faint light. You run over to it and scoop a fairy out of its hiding place.  
"Oh, it's you!" the fairy says somewhat hysterically, giggling as she talks. "I was wondering if I'd get to see you one last time...my queen..."  
You take in her injuries. Its tiny wings are shredded, and there's a glowing, silvery liquid seeping onto your hands. It isn't a lot of liquid, but given the fairy's small size, it's safe to assume that it is bleeding out.  
"What happened?" Your voice comes out as barely more than a whisper.  
"Bill..." You hear a faint coughing. It would sound adorable, if you didn't know that it is probably choking on its own blood..."Bill did this. He didn't want us telling you anything (cough) about the harp. So he came here and--" Its voice breaks and it starts crying softly. You understand now...Bill came here and slaughtered every last fairy so that you wouldn't learn how to control the harp properly. The thought fills you with rage.  
"Shh. It's okay." Your voice is too laced with steel right now to be comforting, but it'll have to do. "Tell me how to control the harp. That's the best way to avenge the others' deaths." The fairy's light flickers. You panic for a moment. This fairy needs to be quick...you're not sure how much longer it can hold on.  
"Concentrate on what you seek, and then play...you'll see a memory that is associated with what you think of." The fairy coughs harder, throwing flecks of silver onto your face, and its light flickers violently. You have no idea what to do. You've never seen anything die in person before. You want to comfort the fairy, but you can't think of a single thing you could do that would ease its pain in any way.  
"I'm sorry..." you whisper to the fairy in your palm. You hear a breathy whisper as the fairy tries to respond, but you can't catch the words it says. The light grows incredibly bright, and then dies completely. For a moment you stare at the dull figure in the palm of your hand. When it's not glowing, it's actually translucent. Such a beautiful creature...destroyed, by Bill. Because of you. You can barely keep yourself from clenching your fist in anger. You decide to set the fairy down on a flower. It somehow seems more fitting than a burial. As you turn around to go home, angry tears running down your face, you notice what you didn't before...the tiny translucent corpses littering the ground. There are so many that you can hardly take a step without stepping on one. Bile rises in your throat when you realize that you probably stepped on countless bodies getting to the living fairy. This place, once beautiful and full of life, is empty and soaked with blood. You may not have gotten along with the fairies last time you came, but they didn't deserve this. This happened because they were following your orders.  
You never wanted this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, short chapter, I know. I just thought that this chapter was a bit too heavy to be thrown in with the rest of them. Buckle up, guys. It's only getting heavier from here.


	12. Vale Meus Dilectissimi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry

You approach the Shack, the harp hanging limply from your bloodstained hands. Unfortunately, Dipper is waiting for you at the door.  
"How did it go?" he asks, as if the expression on your face isn't answer enough.  
"I found out how to control which memories I see." You avoid his question. Dipper seems to notice your facial expression and the glowing silver liquid on your pant legs from where you tried to clean your hands. He takes your trembling hand in his.  
"What happened?" He asks, his voice soft and gentle. You shake your head. There's no way you can talk about what you just saw yet.  
"It turns out that I need to concentrate on what you want to see before I start strumming. I've just been playing aimlessly, which is why I've been getting random memories."  
Dipper seems to wonder why you're avoiding his questions, but he knows better than to press you at this point. "I'm assuming that you're going to go see some memories now?"  
"You assume correctly."  
"I'm coming with you."  
"Of course." You force yourself to smile at him. Dipper follows you to your room, and the two of you sit on the bed. You concentrate on your desire to defeat Bill and begin to strum. Your voice begins singing a melancholy tune, and you hear some of the words before you are lost to memory. 

O mi dilectissime unum  
Oh titulari de mei luna et caelum  
Vellem hanc a vobis  
Latorem ero peccatis tuis  
Quos ego placabo hostiis animam meam  
anima mea  
Pro vobis mi dilectissime unum  
Et spiritum meum frangit  
Illud prorumpat pro vobis

You reopen your eyes to see the man from your second vision. What was his name? Rowan?  
"What will that deal be?" he says.  
Wait. This is the same vision you saw before. You're picking up where you left off.  
"Bill needs a host in order to have power. He merges with the soul of another being and feeds off of their essence. Very few are strong enough to defeat him. Adrian...he wasn't strong enough."  
Rowan guffaws. "You're not saying that you'll merge with the demon?"  
You sigh heavily. "I obviously cannot risk merging with him in my current state. If he attained the level of power I have now...all would be lost. That is why I must become mortal."  
"Y-your Majesty..."  
"I haven't finished. Once I am mortal, I will make him a physical form using what little power I have left, so that Adrian won't dissipate after being unbound, and then I will host him instead. I will either defeat Bill myself...or I will have Adrian kill me before Bill takes over fully."  
You are stunned into silence by your words. Rowan, however, is not.  
"Why would you do this for him? In your current form, it would be much easier to just annihilate them both completely."  
"Because..." You don't finish your sentence aloud, but you sense the end of it anyway.  
Because I love him.  
You are accosted with wave after wave of memories. You and Adrian, sitting beneath the stars as you tell him the secrets of the universe. You and Adrian, kissing passionately on the forest floor. You and Adrian, working magic together. You and Adrian, becoming one. And infused into each memory you see is a feeling of love so powerful that it overwhelms you. You feel your eyes burn and your heart race and your breath catch, all at once. You never thought it possible to feel so powerfully about someone. Thousands of memories flash before your eyes, until--

"(y/n)!" Dipper shakes you. "(y/n), snap out of it!"  
"Wh-what?" You blink a few times. "What happened differently this time?"  
"I don't know!" Dipper looks very panicked. "Everything was normal, but then all of the sudden, you stopped singing, your fingers froze on the harp, and these...images...started flashing in your eyes..."  
You tense up. "Did...did you see what any of the images were?"  
"No. They were flashing too rapidly. It didn't last long. Your eyes only flashed for, I dunno, fifteen seconds before I woke you up."  
You're relieved. There are quite a few images that you wouldn't want him to see...  
"Did you find what you were looking for?"  
You smile at him sadly. "That's a very complicated question." Dipper opens his mouth to ask you something else, but you don't let him. Instead, you grab him by the collar of his shirt and pull him into you, pushing your lips against his with intensity. You kiss him hard, like it's the last kiss you're ever going to share. He is surprised at first, but he recovers, weaving his fingers through your hair and kissing you deeply. You run your hand down his back and he responds with a soft moan. You kiss each other with this intensity for what feels like forever, and then you stop just as suddenly as you began. He looks at you with an expression that's somewhere between awe and confusion. You can tell he wants an explanation, but you can't give him one. You feign exhaustion.  
"Could I have a minute, please? Alone?"  
Dipper seems very surprised this abrupt change in your behavior--surprised enough to leave without questioning you. As soon as he's out of your room, you stand up and quietly lock the door. You lay on your bed for a moment, setting the harp on the floor. It has lost all importance...now it's just a trinket, a toy.  
You stare up at the ceiling, pondering what just happened and what's about to. You understand why you came here now. That was what you wanted, wasn't it? To know what you have to do? You sigh. How could you have been naïve enough to think that the solution would be an easy one? Now, you have to sacrifice everything.  
"No," you whisper. You don't have to make that sacrifice. You can continue your life, finish your book, maybe have a future with Dipper. You can push back the thought of Adrian and his fate and pretend that Bill is gone forever.  
But...you'd know the truth. You'd know that Adrian made a mistake because he was driven mad by his love for you, you'd know that Bill could reemerge and destroy your reality at any given moment, and if you did nothing to fix those things you would be too consumed with guilt to have anything resembling a healthy relationship with Dipper or anyone else.  
You stand up and walk to the window. Part of you knew the moment you saw that memory that you would do this, and that when you kissed Dipper, you were kissing him goodbye. For a moment, you consider leaving a note, but you have no idea what you'd say. "Sorry to leave, but I have to go make a body for my ex-lover, merge souls with a demon, and either beat him or be destroyed." Yeah, no. That wouldn't work. As much as it pains you to leave like this, you know that it's better this way. You take a deep breath and climb through the window, shutting it behind you. You touch your fingers to the glass as though it's the life you're leaving behind.  
"Bye," you choke out, before running off into the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? Another short chapter? Yes. That's right. I think you guys can tell that we're almost at the end. I'm sad that I couldn't find a place to squeeze in every request I got, or every scene I wanted to include, but I may make a few one-shots later on that exist within this same story. Thank you guys so much for reading this. I hope you've loved it as much as I have.  
> By the way...in case you were wondering what that Latin was in the middle, here's the translation.
> 
> Oh my dear beloved one  
> Oh holder of my moon and sky  
> I would take this from you  
> I would be the bearer of your sins  
> I sacrifice my life  
> My soul  
> For you, my dear beloved one  
> And as my spirit breaks  
> It breaks for you
> 
> Also, "Vale meus dilectissimi" is Latin for "Farewell, my beloved".


	13. Crescendo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff gets really h*ckin intense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually do this, but the song I think fits this scene best is "O" by Coldplay. If you really want to get into the mood of this scene, I suggest you listen to it as you read. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap-HeMIKi-c

The trees block out the light of the rising sun, leaving you alone, lost in your thoughts and the darkness.  
Are you really going to do this? You could probably turn around if you wanted to. After all, what does Adrian mean to you, anyway? You loved him once, you know, but what hold do those feelings still have on you? You love someone else now, and you're abandoning him by doing this. You imagine running back home to him, running into his arms, holding him close and feeling his arms wrapped around your body, his lips on yours again...  
No. Even as you imagine this, you walk faster to wherever it is that you're going. Where are you going? Bill is a demon with no physical form. It's not like you have to meet him anywhere. You barely recognize your surroundings. Everything looks different in the darkness.  
Suddenly, you recognize exactly where you are, and you stop. This is the place where you first met Bill, the day you first tried to visit the fairies. You grimace at the memory of the creatures whose corpses now littered the forest floor not far from here. You have to do this, for them if for no other reason. No one should die for nothing.  
What do you do now? You have to make a body for Adrian, and you have to make a deal with Bill, but you have no idea how to do either of those things. How will you convince Bill to make a deal with you? He can read minds. He knows you're trying to trick him. You sigh heavily.  
"Bill?" you whisper. There is no response. You chuckle at the fact that you really believed he would--  
"You called, Highness?" His grating voice is in your ear and his hands are wrapped around your waist.  
"Bill." You take his hands off of you and turn to face him. His face is maybe an inch away from yours. He clearly has no concept of personal space. You back up a bit, still holding his hands so that he can't put them anywhere he shouldn't.  
"What do you need, doll?" He grins mischievously. "Didn't have enough of me last night, huh? You called me because you're desperate for more? Well, I'd love to give you some more--"  
"That's not what I want, Bill." Your face is a bit hot. "Don't play dumb. I already know that you can read minds."  
Bill acts a bit offended. "I don't read your mind, Highness. Not often, anyway. It's so much more fun to try to figure out what you're thinking myself, to read your body language--"  
"I want to make a deal, okay?"  
His eyes light up. "Oh, is that so, Highness?"  
You sigh. "Yes."  
"Well, don't leave me hanging, doll," he purrs. "Tell me what you want."  
"I want you to release Adrian." You try to sound confident. "I'll provide a body for him to inhabit."  
Bill raises an eyebrow, examining you like a cat might watch a mouse before catching it in its maw. "And whose body might that be? Yours?"  
You shake your head. "I'll make him his own body."  
Bill guffaws. "Okay, doll. Whatever you say, but you must know that I'm not giving him up without a replacement host."  
"I...I know." You take a deep breath. "I'll take his place."  
His eyes glimmer with something you can't quite place. Desire? Thirst for power? Lust?  
"You mean...you'd allow me to bind my soul to yours, and feed off of it until there is nothing left?" He grins menacingly, his teeth gleaming like freshly polished knives.  
"Y-yes." You voice trembles, much to your dismay. "But, since this deal benefits you a great deal more than it does me...I want you to teach me how to create a body using my remaining powers."  
"You know, there are ways I could use our combined powers to make a body, but that might take a bit longer..." He winks at you, and you let out a huff of frustration.  
"We're not doing what you're implying, Bill. You know what I mean."  
"You know, there's no need to act regal. We're not at the palace anymore, Highness." He pouts. You glare at him, and he sighs. "Fine. We have a deal." He reaches out to shake on it, his hand engulfed in a blue flame. Hesitantly, you grab his hand, expecting the flames to burn you, but they feel more like waves of the ocean licking your hand. After you shake, he releases you and the flames disappear.   
"Now show me how to make him a body." Your hands are clenched at your sides.  
"Well, first things first, you've gotta loosen up." He takes your hands in his and uncurls your fingers. "If you're tense, your power can't flow through you properly. And if the power isn't flowing well, the body you make is going to be messed up. And you only have enough power for one body, so you don't have room for failure. Got it, Highness?"  
You nod and try to force yourself to relax. It's hard to do, since you know what is going to happen to you as soon as you make this body...  
"I suppose that's relaxed enough. Now, what you want to do is picture the body you want to create, and imagine your life force flowing into it. Imagine giving it a breath of life, and push..."  
You close your eyes and try to do as he says. Surprisingly, this part comes fairly easily. You suppose you must remember how to work your powers on some level.  
"Wow..." Bill whispers. You open your eyes to see what he's talking about, and your breath is lost. It looks like millions of tiny dots of light are all coming together and forming a humanoid shape. However, as soon as you look, the dots begin to fade and scatter.  
"Concentrate!" Bill snaps at you, putting a hand over your eyes. "If you lose your focus, this won't work. I'll let you know when it's okay to open your eyes."  
You do as he says, keeping your eyes closed and concentrating on the image of Adrian's body coming to life. As you do, you feel yourself grow a bit faint, and your knees buckle slightly. Suddenly, the feeling of being drained stops. At the same time, Bill speaks again.  
"You can open your eyes now, Highness."  
You do, and you see...Adrian. Lying on the forest floor. Naked. You blush lightly at his nakedness, but you're not really surprised that you couldn't make clothes for him. He looks so peaceful, but you know that there's no soul inhabiting his body. His chest doesn't rise and fall. A slight burning behind your eyes makes you wonder if you aren't still doing this for him, after all these years.  
"It...worked." Your voice is quiet.  
"Of course it did. You had me guiding you." Bill grins. Now that you have a real body to compare him directly to, you can see that he doesn't look as...concrete. You wonder why you didn't notice before. He continues. "I'm gonna go ahead and inhabit this body so that his soul doesn't dissipate when I drop him and merge with you."  
"Why?" The word slips out of your mouth.  
"Why?" Bill frowns. "I guess...I've spent all this time feeding off this guy, and his desires wore off on me a bit. He wants me to honor my deal with you fully. Hopefully, once I ditch this loser, I won't be affected by him anymore." His voice is casual, but you can tell that he is sincerely bothered by Adrian's influence. You smile a bit. Bill tips his hat slightly, tilting reality slightly and making you wobble, before rushing into the body laying on the floor.  
Adrian's chest begins to rise and fall, and a flutter of hope builds in your chest. You fall to your knees beside him and cradle his head in your hands. You know that this is stupid, since Bill is still in charge of this body for now, but this is the closest you may be able to come to holding him before your soul is consumed by Bill's.  
He sits up suddenly and, before you know what's happening, his lips are pressed against yours, his tongue is slipping past your teeth, and his hands are grabbing every part of your body. You let him for a moment, caught up in the familiarity of his touch, before you remember that he is naked, and currently possessed by a demon, and that you are in love with someone else, and you push him off of you.  
"(y/n)..." he whispers breathlessly. His voice sounds different. It's still obviously his voice, but it's missing the otherworldly quality it usually has. His eyes do not have slits, but normal pupils. "(y/n), it's me."  
"Bill?"  
"No." He smiles, and it isn't off-putting at all. You smile slightly.  
"Adrian?"  
He nods. "Bill decided to let us have a brief reunion before..." His face falls. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."  
"No. Don't be sorry." Part of you wants to let him have a normal reunion and a few moments of happiness before he loses you more than he already has, but you know there's something you have to tell him. "I need you to do something for me."  
"Anything."  
"After Bill and I merge, I need you to kill me. Before his soul can properly get a hold on mine. Then he'll be powerless--at least until he manages to trick some other soul."  
"B-but...you..."  
"No buts. Promise me."  
Tears begin to fall down his face. "Anything...my love."  
You begin to cry, as well. You really shouldn't ask anything else of him, especially what you're considering, but there are things that have to be known...  
"Please, Adrian. Find Dipper Pines. And tell him I love him."  
Adrian looks like you've punched him in the stomach.  
"I'm sorry, Adrian." Tears fall faster, now.  
He shakes his head. "I understand." He closes his eyes. When he opens them again, they are slits.  
"It's time, Highness." His voice is no longer his own. It's Bill's once again.  
You close your eyes and await your fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. This story has been an incredible journey, and I appreciate all of you going on it with me. "A Deal Gone Stale" may be near its end, but I hope all of you will continue to read my stories (I have a few that I plan on starting soon) and that you enjoyed this as much as I did.


	14. Lupus Ex Tenebras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up y'all

You are surrounded by void; a pitch black emptiness that consumes all the heat in your body and devours every sound of despair you try to make. You expect your eyes to adjust to the darkness and show something, but there is not even a hint of light. You can't see your hand when you wave it in front of your face. You can't hear anything--not your desperate attempts to breathe, not the frantic beat of your dying heart, not your terrified sobs. There is no air here, but for some reason, you don't die of asphyxiation. You cry from the strangeness of not breathing, and your lungs burn from the effort of continuing to try to breathe in air that simply doesn't exist, but eventually you force yourself to stop, to calm down. Bill has to be here somewhere. He must be doing this to you.  
"Wow, doll..." A metallic voice cuts through the absolute silence. The voice is strange...it almost sounds like overtones; like the echo of a voice that you cannot hear. It has no distinct gender, but the familiarity of the way it grates on your very being lets you know who is speaking to you. "I didn't think you'd EVER calm down long enough to think things through. It's nice to know you've still got a few functioning brain cells in there somewhere." You feel a hand tap your skull a few times. Suddenly, you hear a snap and you are blinded by light. Air fills your struggling lungs once again. As you kneel on the ground, gasping for air, Bill cackles at you. "Look at you. Drinking in 'air' so desperately, as though any of this is real." You look up from the ground to his form. He no longer takes Adrian's human form, but rather a triangle. However, he doesn't take his typical triangular form...you remember him being yellow, and the creature before you is blacker than the void you were in before he turned on the lights. His darkness is magnetic, and you can feel yourself being pulled toward it on a subconscious level. He also seems to be missing his top hat and tie. The only part of his being that isn't pure darkness is his one eye, which glows white in contrast. His thin pupil gleams, full of dark, menacing knowledge that you never want to learn.  
"Oh, wondering about my new form, are you? This is my base form. When I'm not merged with anyone...this is it."  
"Oh. So, you take on new attributes of the people you merge with, some of their personality traits, some of their emotions..." A glance at your body--well, your soul--shows faint lines of yourself...blurring? It looks like your essence is being sucked into the void that makes up his being. You laugh hysterically, your sanity waning at the prospect of becoming one with this being, and having him become you, in a way. "You really are...just a parasite."  
His eye narrows, and you can feel dark waves of anger radiate off of him. He seems so powerful by himself that you wonder why he even needs to feed off of anyone's souls, but...if this is only the Mindscape, it's possible that his intimidating demeanor is only a facade. He could truly be a glowing orb like the ones that formed Adrian's body.  
Adrian. You hope he goes through with what you asked of him. If he doesn't...you shudder involuntarily at the thought.  
"I see. You think you're clever, don't you?" You can practically hear a smirk in his voice, but his eye only narrows further. He is impossible to read in this form. His voice drips with sadism and a sick amusement. You are reminded of a child playing with his food, although you quickly push that metaphor far from your mind. "You asked your precious lover to kill you. You really think that will stop me from consuming your soul? We had a deal. Even if your soul escapes this body, I own it. I will hunt you to the ends of creation if I have to, but I will know the taste of your soul if it's the last thing I do." His voice grows more menacing and hungry as he talks, and you can imagine him as a wolf, saliva dripping from his maw as he corners you before tearing out your throat. You are so terrified that you don't even bother to correct his use of the term "lover". Your body trembles, much to your shame.  
"You're all talk." You try to force confidence into your voice.  
"We'll see who's all talk." He approaches for a moment, then stops, letting out a chuckle darker than thunder. "You know, that's not a bad idea..."  
You are confused only for a moment as his form shifts into that of a wolf with a coat of shimmering midnight. His teeth have dark red stains on them, as though he has devoured many before you and will devour many after you. You vaguely recall that you can control your environment and surroundings in the Mindscape. Even though you know the futility of your actions--there is no conceivable way you can win this fight--you form a long, silver knife and brace yourself for his attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little chapter. Big content. Sorry if I went a little crazy with the metaphors here.
> 
> Also, "Lupus ex tenebras" is Latin for "The wolf of darkness".


	15. Finale Ultimo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end is nigh

"Dipper, get the door already!" Mabel shouts from upstairs after the twelfth knock at the door.  
"Fine." Dipper rubs his eyes and trudges towards the door. As he reaches the door, the person at the door pounded on it again. He rolls his eyes and opens the door before they can even finish knocking.  
"What do you—" Dipper stopped abruptly when he saw who was there. It was a human who matched your description of Adrian. Naked. Holding you limp in his arms.  
"Look, I know how this must look," Adrian says defensively.  
"Oh, do you?" Dipper says, his eyebrows raised sincerely for a moment before his facial expression falls into a glare and he punches him squarely in the nose.  
Adrian curses and drops you. "OW."  
Dipper's expression softens a bit and he lowers his fist a few inches, still not off-guard enough to pick you up. "'Ow'?" He raises an eyebrow. "I thought you liked pain, Bill."  
Adrian glares at him. "DON'T. Call me Bill. I'm NOTHING like him." After rubbing his face for a moment, he sighs and drops his eyes. "I guess, um, I understand why you'd think that, though..."  
Dipper inhales sharply as realization strikes him. "You're...Adrian. Aren't you?"  
Adrian nods and picks you up off the floor. "And you must be Dipper Pines."  
Dipper nods warily. "In the flesh." A pause. "How exactly do you know me?"  
Adrian purses his lips in slight irritation. "I may not have been calling the shots when I was Bill Cipher's host, but I could still see everything he saw. And, a lot of the time, that was you."  
"Ah." Dipper cleared his throat. "Anyway. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable reason that you have a physical form. And are naked. And holding (y/n). And NOT merged with Bill Cipher."  
"Yes, but we've gotta be fast with this explanation. I don't know how long she can fight alone." Adrian nods toward you with a worried expression. Dipper nods and extends his arms as if to take you, but Adrian just holds you closer.  
"Mabel? I think you might want to come downstairs," calls Dipper. After a minute or so, Mabel reached them.  
"What do you OH GEEZ HE'S NAKED." She covers her eyes as her whole face turns red. "Give a girl some warning next time. Who's this, anyway?"  
"Oh. Uh. This is—"  
"Adrian." He nodded in her direction in spite of the fact that she couldn't see him. "Anyway. (Y/n) made a deal with Bill: Bill helped her to make me a body, and he released me and took her as his new host."  
"WHAT?" Dipper rips you out of his arms. Opening one of your eyelids reveals that your pupils have dilated abnormally largely and the veins in your eyes have begun to burst. He drops your eyelid and says frantically, "How can we save her?"  
"Honestly...I'm not sure if we can." Adrian rubs the back of his neck for a moment. "She told me to kill her before Bill can fully attach to her soul. But. Um." His voice grows soft and takes on a distant memory quality. "I couldn't do that." He looks at Dipper. "I had to at least see if it was possible for us to help save her. I honestly don't know much about magic—Bill uses a type of innate magic that's different from what humans use—but I think I remember you using a spell to enter someone's mind once?" He raises his eyebrows hopefully.  
"Yeah." Dipper sets you down on the couch. "Just a minute." After running and grabbing Journal 4, he comes back down and opens to the page with the incantation.  
"I hope this works," he mutters.  
"Me too," whispers Adrian.  
Mabel looks at Adrian for a moment. Opens her mouth. Closes it. Opens it again. Says, "Why did you come here, Adrian?"  
For a moment, Adrian smiles bittersweetly. "If she's going to die...it should be with the people who she loves."  
Dipper forced his lips to turn up a tiny bit at the corners. "She loved you. Didn't she?"  
Adrian shrugs noncommittally. "She did once. But that...well, the person who loved me really died thousands of years ago. I don't think she really loves me anymore. But you...I know she loves you."  
"How?" Dipper leans forward.  
Adrian chuckles dryly. "She told me to tell you so."  
"Oh." A pause that isn't long, but feels long. "Thank you. For telling me."  
For a moment, no one says anything. Then, Adrian says, "Let's try to save her."

 

"You sure are persistent, aren't you?" Bill's voice tries to imitate nonchalance, but his anger shows. You can't help but take some small pleasure in the difficulty you're giving him.  
"And you," you retort through labored breaths, "never shut up." You lunge at him with your knife, but the wolf of darkness dodges and you fall you your knees.  
On your feet on your feet on your feet.  
You know that you are just stalling at this point. Your "body" is covered in bite marks and gashes and your energy is almost gone. Bill, on the other hand had two—maybe three?—injuries of consequence. He is going to outlast you. Only determination is keeping you going at this point.  
Why hasn't Adrian killed you yet? You grit your teeth as you practically jump out of the way of a terrifying lunge.  
Bill grins sadistically, which looks even creepier as a wolf. "Looks like your plan didn't work." His mocking tone puts a sour taste in you mouth. It doesn't mix well with the metallic taste of blood.  
On second thought, spite is also doing a pretty good job keeping you fighting.  
"Maybe this IS my plan." Dodge again.  
"What? Getting your butt served to you on a silver platter?" He clamps onto your leg. You cry out and bring your knife down onto his snout. It doesn't quite pierce the bone and he lets go. Your body trembles in agony. You want to give up, but you have to stay determined. Bill CAN'T win.  
"Maybe I'm a masochist. You don't know me." You swipe at him. All you succeed to cut is a few hairs.  
"Yes, I do." He snarls. "You're no masochist. Although, I think I may be a sadist." He imitates a contemplative tone and cocks his head.  
"Wow. Groundbreaking." You can't land a hit on him, you so try to take a slightly more defensive position. But when you shift your weight, your leg gives out from under you.  
GET UP GET UP GET UP GET—  
He is standing over you, his horrible black maw dripping with your blood, chucks of your flesh stuck between his teeth. You loosen your grip on the knife. "You lose, Highness." You give up. He snarls, savoring the moment. Then...a cat head smacks him in the back of the head? (???)  
"HEY YOU!"  
Mabel?  
"Get away from her!"  
Dipper?  
"How unpleasant to see you again."  
Adrian?  
That little...of course he wouldn't kill you. He still loves you. You should be mad. But...you'd do the same thing. Besides, you think as you regain your grip on the knife, a tiny bubble of hope is blooming in your chest again. That's all you have at this point.  
Bill growls and turns to face them. "You pests never know when to butt out, do you?"  
Dipper smiles at you from over the wolf. "We believe in you, (y/n)."  
Before he's even finished speaking, you bury the head of your knife in Bill's skull. He falls. You shake the knife, remove it, and drop it. "You lose, Bill."  
There is a pause.  
Then a horrible, unending laughter. He begins to talk, but the laughter doesn't stop.  
"YOU NAÏVE FOOL."  
Oh, no.  
"You honestly thought you could stop me with an imaginary knife?"  
Oh no no no no no no no...  
"This is the MINDSCAPE!" Bill returns to his void-black-triangular form.  
You've made a horrible mistake.  
"I don't even have a physical form for you to harm."  
What can you...oh.  
"I've just been humoring you."  
You know what you have to do now.  
"NOTHING will stop me from claiming your soul."  
You just hope that the ones you love can learn to forgive you.  
"Fine. Then take it."  
Bill may be hard to read in this form, but you can still see his surprise. "...what? Seriously?"  
You nod. "I won't try to stop you from merging with me. Just let me say goodbye. And let them go."  
He rolls his eye. "Fine. Make it snappy."  
Remembering what he said about there being no physical forms in the Mindscape, you ignore your injuries and stand and walk to where they stand. Huh. It seems like all your pain really was in your head. Stupid.  
"(Y/n)..." Dipper takes your hand. He lowers his voice. "What are you planning?"  
You don't bother to lower yours. "I'm giving him what he wants." You take a deep breath. "Mabel, I'm so sorry I won't be able to make up for all those sleepovers we missed. You're going to be a hit in the fashion designer. I love you." She stammers, but you don't give her time to say anything. "Adrian...I'm sorry for all the time you lost because of me. Please. Go out and make a new life for yourself. Find out who you are when you aren't defined by me." You smile sadly. "I really did love you." He nods.  
"Good luck," he says. Part of you wonders if he knows what you plan on doing. You don't think too long on it. This is all the time you have left, and as much as you want to make it last forever, you know that the longer you drag out goodbye, the harder it will be for them once you're gone. You squeeze Dipper's hand, trying to communicate your regret and longing for a life lost, for the future, however brief, you never got to have with him. "Dipper." Your voice breaks. "Dipper. I...you..." You laugh softly. "I love you. I'm sorry."  
"I love you too," he whispers. He squeezes your hand back. You can only hope he understands all that you tried to communicate to him. You release his hand, feeling like you've just left the anchor to your life behind. "Now. You guys really need to go." You snap your fingers and they are gone just as suddenly as they appeared. You take a deep, shuddering breath and turn to Bill. Spreading your arms, you smile.  
"Let's do this thing."  
Suddenly, your consciousness is overwhelmed with his. Was this plan too cocky? Can you really pull this off?  
...no. You were right. Bill underestimated you. You summon all the mental willpower and control you have to channel both your and Bill's power. He senses this.  
...What are you doing? his voice says in your head.  
I wonder what it will be like to destroy my own soul, you muse.  
He understands too late.  
NO!  
A carnal scream rips through your being, but you are already dissolving. You see your soul in front of you, a pure, bright ball of something with a dark cloud spreading through it. Quickly, the ball begins to fade as you destroy your soul. Since Bill is merged with you, that means destroying him, too.  
The ones you love are finally safe.  
The screaming fades into a beautiful quiet. And then...nothing. 

 

As your casket sinks into the earth, only a few remain. Your parents and Mabel left before your casket was closed because they couldn't stand the finality of it all. They are still in denial, even though Mabel was the one to realize that your pulse was gone, the one to scream as she clutched your still-warm body to hers as though her warmth could wake you up. As though you could wake up. Even though your parents touched your cheek, your hands, just to make sure what they'd heard was true, that the things they'd left unsaid would now and forever remain unsaid.  
Dipper and Adrian stayed with your casket to the very end out of some strange sense of obligation. They stayed as the casket was closed. As it was lowered into the ground. As it was covered with dirt. As the preacher said something to them about you being in heaven now and they had to bite their tongues to keep the truth from escaping. As the pastor left. And then they sat until the night spread out before them like an endless blanket.  
"So," Dipper finally said.  
"So," responded Adrian.  
"What now?"  
Adrian laughed softly, and for the first time in centuries, it held no bitterness. "Isn't that the question."  
"Heh. Yeah."  
A pause. "I think I'm going to try to do what she said."  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah. I'm not who I was before (y/n). I can't be. But I'm not who I was with Bill, either. Honestly...I think I just need to start over. Figure out where I fit in this world." He stands.  
"I guess you won't be staying with us then." Not a question. Just a statement.  
"Yeah. Besides. That'd be awkward, anyway." He smiles good-nature fly.  
Dipper chuckles. "True." He paused. "I wish you the best, Adrian."  
"Thank you." Adrian smiles sincerely. He turns to leave, but Dipper stops him.  
"Wait." Dipper scribbles on a slip of paper and then holds the slip out to him. "Here's my number. Call me if ever you need anything." He smiles.  
"Thanks, I will," Adrian said in a way that told Dipper he wouldn't. Not that Dipper could blame him. Truth be told, he would prefer never to see Adrian again. Too many bad memories there. He didn't need any outside help in forever reliving his emotional trauma.  
Adrian waved and walked away. Only Dipper remained. After a few minutes, he stood and walked to your casket. He understood now what you meant when you said goodbye. He squeezed his eyes tight. He learned to be okay without you once. Maybe, some day, he could do it again. And maybe he could find room in his heart for live again someday.  
He sets a bouquet by your grave.  
"I forgive you."  
He turns and walks back to his life, the same as before, but still irrevocably different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your support of this fic! It was a labor of love. You'll probably notice that there are still two more chapters after this one, but this is the "canonical" end to ADGS. I'd love to work on some one shots soon, so if you have any ideas or requests—even for other fandoms—be sure to let me know! I'm always excited when I get requests. :)  
> Remember: reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!


	16. The Beginning: an ADGS One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OKAY. I felt bad about all the messages I got about wrecking y'all's emotions, and when I checked, between the two locations of this fic I have well over 2,000 readers, so...here you go. This one-shot takes place when "you" are just beginning to fall in love, back in high school. This is 100% canon for this story. I didn't feel like I could do much going forward, so I decided to go back. This is totally just meaningless fluff, but I hope you guys like it. I love you all.

You and Dipper are just friends.   
Just friends. That's all you've ever been. That's all you've ever wanted to be. But...you've been feeling kind of weird lately towards him.   
You've just been noticing little things. The way your heart flutters when he walks by, waving eagerly in your direction. The warm tingle you feel deep inside when you laugh into the middle night over cheesy old horror movies. The way your heart goes soft when his face lights up as he tells a story about monsters and demons. How safe you feel when he hugs you—as if, in that moment, his arms could shield you from the world.   
The bell rings. You go to second period—Chemistry, which you share with Dipper. Your heart lifts a bit. Your feet feel a bit lighter as you walk because you know in whose direction you are walking.   
He smiled at you from across the classroom. You can't sit together in your class. This teacher is one of the only ones in the school who gives assigned seats. Luckily, you and Dipper are both very good at hiding your phones.   
Speaking of phones...yours buzzes twice in rapid succession from in your pocket. The corners of your lips tilt up. You check; you have two messages from Dipper.  
"Hey. You must be a compound of barrylium and barium."  
"Because you're a BaBe."  
You laugh a little despite yourself. You glance up quickly. Luckily, your teacher didn't seem to notice.   
For a second, you imagine what it would be like. To call your best friend and tell her, "I started dating the most AMAZING guy and I think I'm in love with him."  
You're not in love with him. Not yet, anyway. But those little things...when you bump into him in the hallway and nerve ending you didn't know you had light up like LEDs...when you look at the easy, kind curve of his smile...You can see how easy it would be. To fall for him; to take one step too far past that near-imperceptible line between "like" and "love" and then slide down the slippery slope into hopeless adoration.   
You respond: "Omg you're the worst I stg"  
Then you watch as he reads your message and smiles. Your own smile widens.   
You're not in love with him.   
Not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK. I think I'll do at least one more bonus chapter after this. The question is, would you all prefer another chapter like this, exploring you and Dipper's high school relationship? Or would you prefer an alternate ending? Or something else entirely? Let me know in the comments!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! This is my first fanfic. If you enjoy it, please leave kudos and comment! It really does fuel my motivation!


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